As pressure increased, Beirut bombing judge summoned former minister Beirut bombing news

Although Lebanese politicians tried to remove him, Beirut bomb investigator Tarek Bitar continued to hunt down political leaders.

Beirut, Lebanon – As the Lebanese leader continues to pressure him, the chief investigator of the Beirut port bombing investigation once again summoned the two accused former ministers.

Judge Tarek Bitar arranged for the trial of former ministers Nouhad Machnouk and Ghazi Zeiter on October 29. Both are currently members of parliament.

Before the investigation was temporarily suspended, both Zeit and Mahnook were scheduled for questioning last week. Bitar will also hold a pending meeting with Prime Minister Hasan Diab on October 28.

He also accused and hunted down former ministers Ali Hasan Khalil and Yusuf Phineanos.He issued warrant Both are applicable, but have not yet been implemented.

Four former ministers have repeatedly filed legal complaints requesting that Bitar be removed from the investigation, and these complaints have been rejected or pending.

The bombing investigation has been suspended twice, and legal experts say this is a delaying strategy before the parliament meets again so that those under investigation can apply for parliamentary immunity.

Lebanese leaders, especially Hezbollah Secretary-General Said Hassan Nasrallah, continue to call for Bitar to be removed, accusing him of bias and politically motivated actions.

Last Thursday, during Beirut’s protest against Hezbollah and Amal supporters’ demands for Bitar’s deportation, the unidentified gunman Fire, Turning the protest into an armed confrontation that lasted for hours. Seven combatants and civilians died.

Many families of bomb victims, human rights organizations, and legal activists continue to support Bitar, saying that he has Create a precedent Accountability and justice in Lebanon.

An entire neighborhood in Beirut was destroyed in an explosion on August 4, 2020, after a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored in the port unsafe for many years was detonated.

More than 200 people were killed and about 6,500 were injured. In one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, an estimated 300,000 people were left homeless. No official was convicted.