Despite historically suffering from delays in the issue of verdicts, the investigation of the August 4 Beirut port blast is expected to be much more streamlined and less susceptible to political interference, Attorney Firas Kleib, a member of the Prosecution bureau of the Beirut Bar Association, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2020) Despite historically suffering from delays in the issue of verdicts, the investigation of the August 4 Beirut port blast is expected to be much more streamlined and less susceptible to political interference, Attorney Firas Kleib, a member of the Prosecution bureau of the Beirut Bar Association, told Sputnik.
"I believe the verdict wouldn't be much delayed once the instruction is over and the accusation list is complete, but on the other hand, we need to be realistic and hold onto patience for the aim is punishing all responsible people... and is, in no way finding one or several officials to be scapegoats while the other responsible escape punishment," Kleib said.
Tasked with leading the investigation into the deadly August 4 Beirut port blast, judge Fadi Sawan became the subject of heated criticism earlier in December, when senior religious authorities and members of the country's political elite accused him of pressing what they described as "politically-biased" criminal negligence charges against the country's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former cabinet ministers.
"The different political parties started criticizing the performance of the Instruction Magistrate from a sectarian point of view in order to discredit his work, and that is a sign that the political/sectarian parties are fearful of the professionalism of the instruction judge and a real indictment since the liability scope might be really wide," Kleib added.
Historically hampered by political interference, the country's judiciary hopes to regain its independence by resisting the sectarian political discourse propagated by the political elite, with the hope that the investigation will lead to the indictment of those responsible for the tragedy and restore people's trust in the country's courts.
"The indictment shall specify a certain number of individuals responsible for the disaster, and basing on the rules of tort reparation, they will have to cover the loss/tort, and depending on the terms of indictment the scope of responsible persons - whether individuals or of public law - shall expand," Kleib said.
With a death toll of over 200 and over 6,000 injured, the August 4 Beirut port explosion severely damaged roughly one-third of the Mediterranean nation's capital, with the resulting material damage estimated at $15 billion.
