Lebanon awaits justice 5 years after Beirut port blast • FRANCE 24 English

August 4th, 2020. Beirut residents are shocked to see a cloud of smoke rising into the sky above their city’s port. Then the unthinkable. A massive explosion sends a supersonic shock wave tearing through the capital. The blast fueled by more than 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate left improperly stored at the port for some 7 years. Entire neighborhoods leveled. 235 killed, more than 6,000 wounded. Property damage running into the billions. Five years later, victim’s relatives say justice feels as far away as ever, but they’re not giving up. We’re still demanding justice. We haven’t forgotten. And we believe there will be justice, but only if politicians in Lebanon take their hands off the judiciary system. In February 2021, the first investigating judge assigned to the case, Fi Sawan, was removed from it after accusing several highlevel officials, and former deputies of negligence. His replacement, Tar Betar, has issued dozens of arrest warrants against port employees, customs officials, and politicians. Lebanon’s powerful Islamist militia Hezbollah says it’s being unfairly targeted in the probe. It has demanded Bar be fired. After a demonstration against the judge descended into armed confrontation, suspects have turned to a strategy of obstruction, filing dozens of appeals. The case also stalled in part due to Lebanon’s ongoing economic collapse and war with neighboring Israel. January’s electoral victory of new President Joseph Aun has rekindled hopes for justice with his administration promising to complete the investigation. An indictment from Betar had been expected over the summer. That deadline now pushed back to the end of the year.

The blast on August 4, 2020 was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions, devastating swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500.
#Lebanon #Beirut #blast

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2 comments

  1. “Justice is coming” has become a slogan with no date. People in Lebanon have been waiting through crisis after crisis—what they need isn’t promises, it’s accountability that doesn’t vanish with the headlines.

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