- Title: Angry relatives of Beirut blast victims protest probe delays
- Date: 29th September 2021
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (SEPTEMBER 29, 2021) (REUTERS) PROTESTER HOLDING BANNER SHOWING PHOTOS OF BEIRUT BLAST AND MINIATURE FIGURES OF PEOPLE ON DEATH ROW WITH WRITING BELOW READING (Arabic): "THE ENDING OF THE CORRUPT" MINIATURE FIGURES OF PEOPLE ON DEATH ROW WITH WRITING BELOW READING (Arabic): "THE ENDING OF THE CORRUPT" VARIOUS OF FAMILIES OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS AND PROTESTERS GATHERING IN FRONT OF THE JUSTICE PALACE IN BEIRUT POSTER HELD BY PROTESTER SHOWING PHOTOS OF PEOPLE KILLED IN LAST YEAR'S BEIRUT BLAST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE PROTESTER WHO LOST HIS FATHER IN BEIRUT BLAST, MOHIELDIN LADKANI, SAYING: "If they take away the file from Judge (Tarek) Bitar that means they are behaving like they are above the law, and if they are above the law then why aren't the families of the victims above the law and take matters into our own hands, go to international courts? There are many things we can possibly do." BANNER READING (Arabic): "WE NOW KNOW WHO IS RESPONSIBLE" PINS SHOWING PHOTOS OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS HANGING ON THEIR RELATIVES CLOTHES / RELATIVES OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS STANDING IN PROTEST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE PROTESTER WHO LOST HIS FATHER IN BEIRUT BLAST, MOHIELDIN LADKANI, SAYING: "I lost my father while he was sitting among us in the house. My siblings were injured and lost body parts, my mother got injured and my father died, we are a misfortunate family as a result of the blast." VARIOUS OF FAMILIES OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS AND PROTESTERS GATHERED IN FRONT OF THE JUSTICE PALACE VARIOUS OF PROTESTER HOLDING LEBANESE FLAG AND SIGN READING (Arabic): "WE WILL NOT FORGET" LEBANESE POLICE MEMBERS STANDING BEHIND JUSTICE PALACE'S GATE RELATIVES OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS SITTING DURING THE PROTEST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE PROTESTER WHO LOST MULTIPLE FRIENDS AND HER COUSIN IN BEIRUT BLAST, JOUMANA KHALIFA, SAYING: "Distorting the investigation is proof that they are all guilty and all have a hand in this crime. We are trying the impossible to reach a result in this probe, but I personally have little hope, because they are way stronger than us." PROTESTERS GATHERED IN FRONT OF JUSTICE PALACE VARIOUS OF RELATIVES OF BEIRUT BLAST VICTIMS HOLDING PHOTOS OF PEOPLE THEY LOST IN THE BLAST VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE PROTESTER WHO LOST HER HUSBAND AND BROTHER - BOTH FIREFIGHTERS - IN BEIRUT BLAST, KARINE HITTI, SAYING: "The judge is getting threatened by politicians and by everyone he is trying to accuse. I don't know how the suspects have the right to submit a complaint to doubt the judge's impartiality, they are suspects, they should be investigated and prove they are innocent. If they weren't guilty, they wouldn't have complained, they wouldn't have threatened the judge and hid behind their immunities and political clout that was granted by us."
- Embargoed: 13th October 2021 13:46
- Keywords: Lebanon blast crisis investigation probe into Beirut blast protests
- Location: BEIRUT, LEBANON
- City: BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWRW47B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of relatives of victims of last year's Beirut port explosion, some chanting and some silent, took to the streets on Wednesday (September 29) angry that an investigation into the disaster had been delayed for the second time this year.
Some carried miniature figures of people on death row with signs below reading "the end for anyone corrupt," while others stood in silence, carrying photos of their loved ones.
Powerful parties including the Shi'ite group Hezbollah and others in the ruling elite have alleged bias in the investigation.
Some in the crowd chanted "Hezbollah are terrorists".
The demonstrators gathered in front of Beirut's Palace of Justice angry that more than a year on, no top officials have been held accountable for an explosion that killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and destroyed large swathes of the capital.
"We are trying the impossible to reach a result in this probe," Joumana Khalifa, whose cousin and friends were killed in the blast, said.
The blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, was caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate that was unsafely stored at the port from 2013.
The probe was frozen on Monday (September 27) on the basis of a legal complaint by Nohad Machnouk, a Sunni Muslim lawmaker and former interior minister, whom the lead investigating judge,
Tarek Bitar, wants to question on suspicion of negligence.
Machnouk's claim calls Bitar's impartiality into question.
Should the court of cassation accept the claim, Bitar will be removed.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said he hoped Bitar would continue in his role.
The French foreign ministry also said it regretted the suspension of the investigation.
The move followed a smear campaign by Lebanon's political class against Bitar, the second judge to lead the probe after his predecessor was forced out following similar accusations by officials he wanted to question about suspected negligence.
One protester said politicians were acting with impunity.
"I lost my father while he was sitting with us at home," Mohieldin Ladkani said, adding that he and other family members were injured.
"If they take away the file from Bitar that means they are behaving like they are above the law," he said. "And if they are above the law, then why aren't the families of the victims above the law and take matters into our own hands?"
(Production: Issam Abdallah, Maha El Dahan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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