Khalil Decries ‘Very High Level of Politicization’ in Port Blast Probe

  • Date: 10-Oct-2021
  • Source: Naharnet
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:Lebanon
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Khalil Decries ‘Very High Level of Politicization’ in Port Blast Probe

Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide MP Aii Hassan Khalil on Sunday lamented what he called a “very high level of politicization” in Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion.

“Unfortunately, there is still insistence on violating all the constitutional and legal norms… as if we have become in a jungle governed by media scoops and making stances, away from all the characteristics of proper judicial and legal action,” Khalil told popular delegations at his residence in Khiyam.

“As we said on the very first day, we are still committed to legal and constitutional norms as to summonings and answers, but unfortunately there are mechanisms that have nothing to do with all legal and constitutional norms,” he decried.

He added: “Today we have filed a request to recuse the judge and colleagues have filed two legitimate suspicion lawsuits, and this all proves that we are before a file in which the levels of politicization and selectivity have become very high.”

Lebanon's appeals court had on Monday rejected lawsuits filed against Bitar in a decision that allowed him to resume his work. Challenges were later filed by several ex-ministers before the Court of Cassation.

The lawsuits were part of a growing campaign by Lebanon's