European Parliament calls for sanctions on anyone blocking Beirut port blast probe

MEPs also back the creation of an independent and international fact-finding mission to investigate the 2020 explosion

Paul and Tracy Naggear have been grieving since the explosion that tore through the Lebanese capital in 2020 killed their three-year-old daughter. All photos: AFP

The August 4 blast, blamed on a fire that ignited tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored for years at Beirut harbour, was one of the largest non-nuclear detonations ever recorded.

Paul and Tracy moved out of Beirut and settled in the mountain town of Beit Mery, 10 kilometres away following the blast. The walls and shelves of their home are adorned with pictures of Alexandra.

After the disaster, Lebanon's ruling elite drew even more public ire by interfering in an investigation that aimed to pinpoint culpability. The lead investigator, Tarek Bitar, has been barred from proceeding by a series of lawsuits filed by political leaders since last year.

Parliament member Melhem Khalaf, a former Beirut bar association head, has tried to fight the official impunity, but both domestic and external factors have hampered investigations.

The European Parliament has called for an independent and international fact-finding mission to investigate the 2020 Beirut port blast after a lack of progress by Lebanese officials three years after the deadly explosion.

A resolution adopted by the parliament also urges the European Council – the EU’s executive arm – to apply targeted sanctions against anyone obstructing the domestic probe or any future international investigation.

It also calls for sanctions on those “who are infringing the democratic and electoral process in the Lebanese institutions, those involved in serious financial misconduct and those obstructing corruption investigations”.

Lebanon has been without a president for nearly eight months, with the bitterly divided parliament failing to elect a successor to Michel Aoun in 12 attempts. Speaker Nabih Berri has yet to schedule 13th round of voting.

The explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and destroyed large parts of the Lebanese capital. The blast is regarded as a symptom of decades of corruption and mismanagement by the Lebanese elite.

No senior officials have been held accountable, while Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation is at a standstill after he was hit with legal measures from powerful Lebanese figures sought for questioning.

The blast occurred after a huge stock of ammonium nitrate – stored at the port for years – caught fire. No reason has been given for why the highly explosive chemical was kept there.

Mr Bitar reopened the case in January, after it had been placed on hold for more than a year, and charged senior politicians, judicial figures and security officials in connection with the explosion.

But Lebanon’s top prosecutor told Mr Bitar that the investigation was still on hold and charged him with rebelling against the judiciary. The Lebanese judicial system is deeply politicised.

The European Parliament resolution encouraged EU member states “to assist families of the victims of the Beirut port blast in exploring the possibilities for presenting lawsuits in foreign national courts as well as explore the possibilities for prosecuting politicians accused of atrocities under universal jurisdiction”.

With justice inside Lebanon seemingly an impossibility right now, families of the victims have turned outside the country for restitution.

Last month, Savaro Ltd, the UK-registered company found liable earlier this year by a London court for the blast, was told to pay a total of $1 million to four victims.

The European Parliament resolution also urges the UN Human Rights Council “to enact a resolution establishing and dispatching an independent and impartial fact-finding mission in order to determine the facts and circumstances of the Beirut explosion, including the root causes, to establish state and individual culpability and to promote justice and restitution for the victims”.