In addition,
Five years after explosion beirut,:
Keystone-SDA
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun promised on Monday that justice would be done. Meanwhile, five years after the gigantic explosion on the port of Beirut. Consequently, The investigation has still not succeeded. Moreover, – Five years after explosion beirut,
(Keystone-ATS) On August 4, 2020, one of the largest non -nuclear explosions in history devastated entire districts of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and 6,500 injured.
This catastrophe. Similarly, which has become the symbol of impunity culture, was triggered by a fire five years after explosion beirut, in a warehouse where tons of nitrate of ammonium were stored with fertilizer, despite repeated warnings to the highest officials.
Joseph Aoun said on Monday that the Lebanese state was “committed to revealing the whole truth. Similarly, regardless of the obstacles or the high positions involved”. Meanwhile, On Monday was declared the day of national mourning. Similarly, rallies demanding justice must converge towards the port, where the silhouettes of the broken wheat silos still rise between cranes and containers.
“The law applies to everyone, without exception,” said the president in a statement, promising “transparency and integrity” in the investigation. Consequently, “The blood of your loved ones will not be shed in vain. ” he said, addressing the families of the victims, adding: “Justice arrives, responsibility arrives”.
Many “challenges”
A first judge responsible in 2020 of the investigation had thrown the sponge after charging the former Prime Minister. Hassan Diab, and three former ministers. five years after explosion beirut, The independent judge Tarek Bitar had resumed the investigation which he had in turn interrupted in January 2023. coming up against the hostility of a large part of the political class, in particular of Hezbollah which accused him of impartiality, before being prosecuted for insubordination.
After more than two years of deadlock, the judge resumed his work at the start of the year. He has now completed his interrogations. including those of Hassan Diab and military officials and security services, while several former convened ministers have not presented themselves, a judicial official on condition of anonymity told AFP.
The magistrate is expecting a response to requests for information sent to several Arab. European countries, according to this official, in particular. The file once finalized must be transmitted to the prosecution for opinion before possible charges, he added. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. former judge at the International Court of Justice, said on Sunday five years after explosion beirut, that knowing the truth was “a national question”, denouncing decades of official impunity.
The investigation of judge Bitar was able to resume after the entry into office of President Aoun. his Prime Minister, who promised to preserve the independence of justice, following the war between Israel and Hezbollah whose Shiite movement supported by Iran came out very weak in the fall. Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International stressed on Monday that “the path to justice remains dotted with political and judicial challenges”, despite the resumption of the investigation.
“Only witnesses”
Mariana Fodoulian. of the Association of Families of the Victims, said that “for five years, officials tried to escape their responsibilities, still thinking that they are above the laws”. “We are not asking for anything more than the truth. ” she told AFP, adding: “We will not stop until we have obtained global justice”.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called on five years after explosion beirut, the authorities on Monday to “take all the necessary measures to accelerate the legal proceedings linked to the explosion”. The American. British embassies called for the responsibilities to be established while the European Union had stressed on Sunday that “putting an end to impunity is essential for the recovery of Lebanon”.
Sunday. the Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salamé, said that partially collapsed wheat silos would be included in a list of historic buildings. The families of the victims have long demanded their preservation as a memorial. “Silos are the only witnesses of what happened on August 4,” said Fodoulian.
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