By Abed Bsat | Staff Writer
What is happening, How did it start and Where is it going?
On August 4th 2020 at around 6pm, a fire broke out in one of Beirut’s port warehouses, sending plumes of smoke covering Beirut’s skyline. As a result of said fire, 2,750 tons of explosive ammonium nitrates detonated and tore their way through the city and its people, making this explosion one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history. Today, a little over a year after, the vibrant streets of Mar Mkhayel and Gemmayzeh have returned with the reconstruction of their bars, restaurants, and bakeries. While the public is ready to rebuild and work again, the state is not, and those behind the blast have yet to be found and tried.
Immediately after the blast, the then Minister of Interior, Mohammad Fehmi, announced a 5-day probe into the explosion and placed all officials related to the Beirut Port under house arrest. In the meantime, people madly took to the streets and demanded the resignation of then Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government. Throughout the next ten days, the High Judicial Court of Lebanon began negotiations to appoint a judge to lead the case. On the 14th of August, then Minister of Justice Marie-Claude Najm announced that Judge Fadi Sawwan, a military investigative judge, would lead the Beirut Port investigation. Over the next few weeks, Judge Sawwan ordered the arrest of some 25 low-ranking officials stationed at the port in which they were all issued blanket charges.
Silence took over the city of Beirut between the months of September and the end of November as no major breaks in the case were made. In late November, Judge Sawwan asked the Lebanese parliament for permission to investigate twelve ministers, some of whom were members of Hassan Diab’s government, and asked to refer them to a special court for the trial of ministers and presidents. To no one’s surprise, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri refused the request. Sawwan continued by charging Prime Minister Hassan Diab alongside Ministers Youssef Fenianos, Ali Hassan Khalil, and Ghazi Zaitar. This immediately sparked outrage from former prime ministers, the Grand Mufti, and Iran-backed political party Hezbollah. In retaliation, Ministers Zaitar and Khalil filed a lawsuit with the Court of Cassation to remove Judge Sawwan from the investigation with claims that he has been neither neutral nor objective with his approach. Judge Sawwan was officially asked to pause his investigation until the Court of Cassation could come back with a verdict, and in late February was officially removed from the case and replaced by the head of Beirut’s criminal court, Judge Tarek Bitar.
Judge Bitar restarted the investigations, met with the families of the victims, assured them that he will pursue the case diligently, and ordered for the release of eight detainees from the original twenty-five that were initially arrested when Judge Sawwan was leading the investigation. Nevertheless, would a state-appointed Judge bring any true yieldings?
In July, Judge Bitar announced the technical phase of his investigation and asked the parliament to lift the immunity of the previously called ministers alongside former Interior Minister and current member of parliament Nohad Machnouk. He also asked Minister Fahmi for permission to interrogate Major General Abbas Ibrahim, the Head of General Security, but his request was denied. As a result, the families of the victims gathered in front of Minister Fahmi’s house and protested, only to be met by fierce resistance from Internal Security Forces. This showed that the government and its attached apparatuses have no intention of properly pursuing legal channels to properly hold those responsible for the explosion.
The culpability of the people behind the explosion was laid even more bare when, on August 15th, hidden gas tanks exploded in the Akkar region, killing 22 and injuring dozens. It represented the pinnacle of corruption and political clientelism in the country, especially the sponsors of the hoarders. In addition, MP Tarek Merhebi filed suit against people who broke into his Beirut house in retaliation for the explosion. After all this, the establishment continues to derail the investigation into the port explosion. After Judge Bitar issued arrest warrants against politicians like Hassan Diab and Nohad Machnouk, in addition to several Hezbollah MPs, these sides began calling for his removal on grounds of conspiracy or insufficient evidence. This dichotomy remains the primary cause of problems in the country, and thus requires radical efforts.
Several legal requests have failed in the removal of Judge Bitar which led to the violent intervention of political parties on the streets to pressure the judicial system and resulted in the street violence in Tayouneh. Almost 14 month post explosion, the public is more confused and strained across sect and political divides. Hezbollah has gone a step further and seem to have intimidated the spokesman of the Beirut Port victims Ibrahim Hoteit by contradicting statements he made to his earlier position calling for the removal of Judge Bitar. Suspiciously, Hoteit soon after resigned as spokesman for the victims of the Beirut Port explosion.
The investigation has not been the smoothest ride for the public and even the judges appointed, but Judge Bitar has shown some independence from political pressures of sects and religious figures. Yet, only time will tell what the future holds in the process of untangling the August Port blast.