Rights Group Slams Lebanon For Lack Of Progress In Beirut Blast Investigation

Rights Group Slams Lebanon for Lack of Progress in Beirut Blast Investigation

A human rights watchdog on Wednesday condemned the Lebanese authorities for the lack of results in an inquiry into the destructive explosion that rocked the capital of Beirut on August 4, 2020, killing hundreds of people and destroying half of the city

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2021) A human rights watchdog on Wednesday condemned the Lebanese authorities for the lack of results in an inquiry into the destructive explosion that rocked the capital of Beirut on August 4, 2020, killing hundreds of people and destroying half of the city.

The NGO specified that the blast investigation stalled in December 2020, when Fadi Sawan, the judge attached to the case, charged Lebanese incumbent caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, two former ministers of public works, Ghazi Zeaiter and Youssef Fenianos, and former Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil with criminal negligence. The officials have not submitted to questioning, and the judge was forced to pause the probe on December 17 for 10 days, as Zeaiter and Khalil filed a court motion to have the judge replaced, claiming his allegations were politically motivated. Since then, the investigation has been stuck.

"Lebanese authorities publicly promised that the investigation into the blast that killed more than 200 people and devastated half the city would take five days, but six months later, the public is still waiting for answers. Moreover, the court handling the case appears to have run roughshod over detained defendants' due process rights, signaling that it is unable or unwilling to deliver justice," Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, as cited by the group's statement.

It also read that within the framework of the stalled probe, 37 people were arrested in regard to the explosion, noting that 25 of those detained face due process rights violations, as they have not been made aware of the charges or evidence against them, and thus, their custody contradicts international human rights law.

The group noted that the detainees are mostly low-level customs, port workers, and security officials with ranging responsibilities, who are nonetheless "charged with the same litany of crimes." Consequently, they remain in pre-trial detention indefinitely, it added.

In the meantime, the independence of the probe into the matter is under threat, as even though Sawan was allowed to resume his investigation until the country's Court of Cassation decided on his dismissal, the proceedings are stalled by the COVID-19 restrictions and the backlash of the country's political establishment towards Sawan's inquiry, the NGO said, calling on the authorities to adopt reforms to provide a comprehensive investigation into the blast.