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Beirut, Lebanon- More than a year ago, when the Lebanese government announced that the investigation into the devastating bombing of Beirut port would be conducted domestically, almost no one expected that senior officials would be charged.
But no one expected the chief investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, to shake the country’s entrenched leadership, which has been at large for decades and often cancels legal investigations that might hold him accountable.
On August 4, 2020, hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored in the port for many years was ignited, causing more than 200 deaths and approximately 6,500 injuries. explode Destroyed most of Beirut and continues to haunt Lebanon because the country is struggling with Economic collapse This makes three-quarters of the population fall into poverty. No official has been convicted yet.
Bitar’s insistence on hunting down senior political and security officials despite their attempts to cancel his legitimacy and remove him from office has attracted the attention of the country.
“After many people gave up local justice and accountability completely, Judge Bitar gave Lebanese hope in the domestic judiciary,” Human Rights Watch Lebanese researcher Aya Majezub told Al Jazeera. “He faced the entire political establishment involved in the Beirut bombings alone.”
On Thursday, the appeals of Hezbollah and Amal supporters in Beirut turned the protest of Bitar’s removal into a protest. Bloodbath When unidentified snipers fired at the crowd from the roof, it triggered a gun battle that lasted more than four hours. Seven civilians and combatants died.
Families, activists and human rights organizations of bomb victims continue to support Bitar. However, several political and religious leaders from various denominations across the country continued to call for his removal and accuse him of prejudice. These allegations were rejected by legal experts and rights groups.
‘Too close to home’
After his predecessor Judge Fadi Sawan was fired, Bitar was appointed to lead the investigation in February. Judge Fadi Sawan was shocked to accuse the former minister Ali Hasan Khalil, Gazizait, and Yusuf Fignanos and Lebanon’s then-caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab committed criminal negligence.
In the past seven months, Bitar has continued to hunt down the same person and accused the former minister Nohad Machnouk. He also repeatedly requested the summons of two high-level security officials, namely Major General Abbas Ibrahim, Director of the General Security Administration, and Major General Tony Saliba, Head of National Security, but the Ministry of the Interior and the High National Defense Council rejected these requests.
The accused politician refused to appear in the interrogation. They also continue to try to dismiss judges by filing legal complaints, sometimes temporarily suspending investigations. Although the judiciary has so far rejected these complaints, legal experts said it was a tactic to delay the investigation, and major political parties are now calling for the removal of Bitar.
The loudest is Hezbollah, although Bitar has not accused anyone in the party. Just three days before the conflict on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Said Hassan Nasrallah accused the judge of targeting officials politically and called for “honest and transparent judges.” Last month, it was reported that a senior Hezbollah security official threatened Judge Bitar in his office.
“Obviously, Bitar is already too close to home, but we don’t know why Hezbollah is leading this campaign against him in particular,” Majizub said. “They keep saying that they were singled out, but none of the officials that Bitar asked for investigation was a Hezbollah official.”
Create a precedent
Lebanon’s turbulent history is full of conflicts, including a 15-year vicious civil war that ended in 1990, followed by decades of assassinations and sporadic armed conflicts. But even the perpetrators of the most serious crimes have never been held accountable. Many people say this is an extension of rampant corruption in Lebanon, and Lebanon’s judiciary is not independent of the government.
Now, political leaders blame Bitar and the judiciary for being politicized.
Family members and experts told Al Jazeera that Bitar had set a new precedent in the investigation of the port bombing and shocked the Lebanese leadership.
Political analyst Bachar El-Halabi stated that Bitar “decided to go as far as possible.”
“Sawan’s removal was also shocked [the country’s ruling parties] And to gain support in the public sphere beyond the sectarian fault line,” El-Halabi pointed out. “This is not only to end the impunity that continues to prevail in Lebanon, but also to worry that the judiciary may bring about any form of change. “
Two years ago, large-scale protests across the country demanded responsibility for rampant corruption and financial mismanagement, and ended decades of rule by the country’s sectarian leadership. At the time, protesters generally called for the establishment of an independent judiciary to investigate corrupt politicians and business people.
“Bitar has also begun to engage in broader discussions across the country [legal] Immunity, as well as a truly corrupt political and legal system, fundamentally protect these senior officials from being held accountable,” Majzoub said.
“He brought this issue to the forefront of public debate in Lebanon and exerted great pressure to reform this system designed by the strong to protect the strong.”
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