Lebanon judge issues arrest warrant for MP over catastrophic port explosion

Gulf Today Report

The Lebanese judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for a former Cabinet minister after he did not show up for questioning, the state-run National News Agency said.

The probe into the catastrophic port explosion was frozen on Tuesday for the second time in less than three weeks after two politicians wanted for questioning filed a new complaint against the lead investigator, a judicial source said.

READ MORE

Talks with Taliban in Doha were 'candid and professional': US

Asian gets year in jail fined Dhs5000 for assault

Shortly afterward, the judge was notified that the former minister and another former government member had formally asked a court to replace the judge, who now has to suspend the investigation until a ruling on him comes out.

The developments were the latest twists in the saga of the troubled probe into the massive August 2020 blast at Beirut's port that killed 215 people, injured thousands and devastated entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital.

The saga of the troubled probe into the massive August 2020 blast at Beirut's port that killed 215 people.

Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the investigation, issued an arrest warrant for Ali Hassan Khalil, Lebanon's former finance minister and current member of parliament. It wasn't immediately clear if Khalil would be arrested.

The probe was suspended in late September on the basis of a complaint questioning Bitar's impartiality. A court rejected the complaint on procedural grounds, allowing him to continue.

Bitar has been leading the probe since Judge Fadi Sawan was removed from the case in February on the basis of a similar complaint filed by the politicians who are now challenging Bitar's neutrality.