Faltering Beirut Port Blast Probe Faces Risk of New Obstruction

Faltering Beirut Port Blast Probe Faces Risk of New Obstruction

A man walks past the justice symbol monument near the grain silo damaged during the 2020 Beirut port explosion, in Beirut Lebanon January 17, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

An investigation into the devastating 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which has struggled to make progress amid resistance from top politicians, may face a further obstruction to its work that could leave the probe in limbo by preventing any indictments.

Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the massive blast, which killed more than 215 people and deepened Lebanon's economic crisis, has been suspended repeatedly by lawsuits brought by senior politicians who he has sought to question.

Hezbollah has led the campaign to remove Bitar, accusing him of bias after he pursued some of its political allies.

In the latest twist, a lawsuit brought by former minister Youssef Finianos, one of the senior figures Bitar wants to interrogate, has been left in limbo by the retirement last week of Judge Roukoz Rizk, who was hearing it, judicial sources say, Reuters reported.

"While this lawsuit is not decided, the investigating judge cannot issue the indictment," a judicial source said.

There can be no ruling in the case, which the source said accuses Bitar of "a grave error" in conducting the probe, until