Lebanon High Court Says Prosecutor Can Resume Port Probe

  • Date: 12-Jan-2021
  • Source: Asharq AL-awsat
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:Lebanon
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Lebanon High Court Says Prosecutor Can Resume Port Probe

Lebanon's highest court said Monday the prosecutor investigating last year's massive explosion at the Beirut port that killed dozens and injured thousands can resume his work after a three-week pause following legal challenges to his authority.

The Court of Cassation's decision gives the green light to Judge Fadi Sawwan to question officials and civil servants over the Aug. 4 explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used mostly as a fertilizer. The blast killed more than 200 people, injured over 6,000 and damaged entire neighborhoods in the capital.

The court's decision, reported by the official state news agency, is likely to ease concerns by members of the public who feared the investigation might end given Lebanon's decades-long culture of impunity.

Nearly 30 people, most of them port and customs officials, have been arrested since the blast. Last month, Sawwan filed charges against caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence leading to the deaths of hundreds of people.

Diab and the three former ministers did not show up for questioning following the charges.

The summoning sparked concerted criticism from most of