Beirut Port Blast Activist Resigns, Many Fear Intimidation

Beirut Port Blast Activist Resigns, Many Fear Intimidation

A demonstrator carries pictures of the victims of the 2020 Beirut port blast during a protest in front of the Justice Palace after a probe into the blast was frozen, in Beirut, Lebanon September 29, 2021. (Reuters)

The spokesman for relatives of those killed in last year’s Beirut port blast quit on Saturday, following fears he had been intimidated into urging the dismissal of the lead investigator in the case.

Hezbollah and allies have accused judge Tarek Bitar of political bias in his probe into the cataclysmic August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 210 people.

Tensions came to a boil Thursday when seven people were killed in violence following a rally organized by Hezbollah and its ally Amal demanding Bitar’s dismissal.

The shootout in central Beirut kept many residents trapped indoors for hours, reviving memories of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

In a complete U-turn from his previous support for the investigator, Ibrahim Hoteit, a vocal spokesman for the families of the victims, called in a video circulated Friday night for the judge to step down.

Many social media users worried that Hoteit, whose brother was killed in the port explosion, had been threatened.

In the video, he is seen glancing off camera as he speaks,