[An Nahar] The Lebanese judge leading investigations into last year's Beirut port blast, Tarek Bitar, has been forced to stop work over a lawsuit filed by ex-ministers he had summoned for interrogation, an official said. The suspension is the fourth since Tarek Bitar was chosen to lead investigations in February.It comes two weeks since Bitar was cleared to resume work, after a series of court challenges raised by politicians derailed his efforts.
On Thursday, Bitar was informed of a lawsuit submitted by politicians Ghazi Zoaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil -- both members of the Amal movement -- which forced him to pause the probe until a ruling is issued, a court official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The total number of lawsuits against Bitar now stands at 18, the official said, most of which were filed by officials he is seeking to interrogate on suspicion of criminal negligence.
Rights groups and relatives of blast victims have repeatedly condemned what they have described as blatant political interference in the investigation.
They say it aims to preserve a culture of political impunity in a country where even liquidations and bombings can go unpunished.
The August 4, 2020 explosion was caused by a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that was stored haphazardly at Beirut port for years.
Top political and security officials knew of the dangers posed by the shipment but failed to take action.
The powerful Iran-backed Hizbullah
...
Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as
The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
is leading demands to remove Bitar.