BEIRUT — The Lebanon judge
leading the investigation into last year's huge
Beirut port blast was forced to
suspend his work Tuesday after what human right groups have condemned as an
attempt by politicians to evade justice.
اضافة اعلان
It is the second time Bitar has
had to suspend the investigation in the face of lawsuits filed by former
ministers he had summoned on suspicion of negligence, and comes amid growing
calls from top officials, including Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah, for
him to be replaced.
Bitar's predecessor, Fadi Sawan,
was forced to suspend his probe for the same reason before he was finally
removed in February in a move widely condemned as political interference.
Human rights groups and relatives
of blast victims fear that the latest suspension is a prelude to Bitar's
removal, which would further derail the official inquiry into the country's
worst peace-time tragedy.
Speaking to AFP on Tuesday, a
court official said Bitar had been forced to pause the probe pending a ruling
by the Court of Cassation on a lawsuit filed by former ministers Ghazi Zeaiter
and Ali Hasan Khalil, both of whom Bitar had summoned for interrogation this
week.
'Parody'
Shortly before he was notified of
the latest lawsuit, Bitar had issued an arrest warrant against Khalil, a former
finance minister and member of the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement led by
parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a court official said.
The warrant was issued after
Khalil failed to show up for questioning on Tuesday, with his attorney
appearing in his place to request more time to mount a defense, the court
official added.
The arrest warrant is the second
to be issued by Bitar after one last month against former public works and
transport minister Youssef Fenianos, who also failed to attend a hearing.
Bitar was also scheduled to
question Zeaiter, a former public works minister, and former interior minister
Nohad Machnouk within the next 24 hours before the suspension came into
force.
The investigator was hoping to
complete a series of interrogations before parliament begins its session on
October 19, after which several suspects will benefit from parliamentary
immunity.
"The course of action taken
by the politicians in the Beirut blast case is becoming a parody of
itself," said Aya Majzoub of Human Rights Watch.
"The accused politicians are
case shopping, filing all the complaints they can think of to suspend the
investigation, in every court available to them, hoping that something
sticks," she told AFP.
"It is a ludicrous attempt
to evade justice."
'Smear campaign'
The August 4, 2020 explosion at
Beirut port killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands more and destroyed
swathes of the capital.
The Lebanese investigation into
the tragedy has yet to identify a single culprit. Calls have grown for an
international probe but they have been rejected by the authorities.
Since taking up the case, Bitar
has summoned an array of former premiers and ministers, and top military and
security officials for questioning on suspicion of criminal negligence.
The Hezbollah chief accused Bitar
on Monday of bias and working towards political objectives. "Things
cannot go on this way," he said in a televised speech.
Other politicians have accused
the judge of partiality in his choice of suspects to question.
"There is a political
decision to prevent Bitar from proceeding with his work, it's not just a case
of stalling," said lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh.
"Nasrallah's remarks are
proof that patience has run out," Saghieh added.
The lawyer dismissed the
criticism directed towards Bitar as "unfounded."
"It is part of a systemic
smear campaign that aims to tarnish Bitar's reputation," with the aim of
facilitating his removal or undermining any findings he may make.
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