Paralyzed for thirteen months, the investigation into the double explosion at the port of Beirut has for several days been at the heart of a legal showdown between the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, Ghassan Oueidate and Judge Tarek Bitar, the judge of instruction at the Court of Justice.
The latter drew the first, on January 23, by relaunching his investigation and ignoring the political and judicial pressures and blockages he has faced since he was tasked, in February 2021, with investigating the causes of the tragedy which on August 4, 2020 left more than 220 dead and 6,500 injured and disfigured the Lebanese capital.
A decision as unexpected as it was shattering that he accompanied by summons for hearings, from February 6, of several figures from the political and security spheres of the Cedar country.
In addition to Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaïter, two former ministers from the Amal movement of the very influential Speaker of Parliament Nabih Beri, pillar of the Shiite political tandem that he forms with Hezbollah, the magistrate summoned Hassan Diab, the former Prime Minister in position at the time, as well as the head of State Security, Tony Saliba, close to former President Michel Aoun, and the director of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, described as close to the Shiite tandem.
Judge Bitar prosecuted in turn
Resolutely offensive and seeming to be playing his all, Tarek Bitar mainly attacked the legal world frontally by initiating proceedings against the Attorney General Ghassan Oueidate.
The latter had withdrawn from the port affair because of a family relationship with Ghazi Zeaïter, one of the elected officials who is the subject of proceedings.
According to a judicial official quoted by AFP, Ghassan Oueidate had supervised in 2019 an investigation by the security services into cracks in the warehouse where the hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, at the origin of the explosions, were stored, without security measure since their unloading in the port of Beirut in 2013. The tragedy of August 4, 2020 is attributed by a large part of the population to the negligence of the ruling class and the corruption of which the port was one of the symbols .
In addition to the highest judicial authority in the country, the judge wants to hear from three other magistrates in connection with the case, two judicial sources told Reuters.
Tarek Bitar, investigating judge at the Court of Justice in the case of the double explosion of August 4, 2020 at the port of Beirut.
© Screenshot via NNA
On Wednesday January 25, the Attorney General responded to his own indictment by ordering the release of the 17 people detained without trial since the deadly double explosion of August 4, 2020 and initiating proceedings against Judge Tarek Bitar… for “rebellion against justice", and "usurpation of power".
The judge is also banned from leaving Lebanese territory and called to appear Thursday morning, said the attorney general at the Court of Cassation in a statement to AFP.
The day before, the prosecution had reported that the investigation remained suspended.
"I am still in charge of the investigation and I will not divest myself of this case. The prosecutor does not have the prerogative to prosecute me", reacted in turn, in a statement to AFP, judge Tarek Bitar who has not finished drafting the indictment.
According to a judicial official who requested anonymity and quoted by AFP, he refused to appear on Thursday.
"Lebanon sank a little more yesterday in a surreal atmosphere of the disintegration of institutions", considers for its part the French-language daily L'Orient-le-Jour, which qualifies the initiative of Ghassan Oueidate, "supported by part of the political class and by the security apparatus", of "coup d'etat against Tarek Bitar".
According to former attorney general Hatem Madi, quoted in the newspaper's columns, "the law does not allow the attorney general to order the release of detainees [including customs director Badri Daher and port director Hassan Korayte]. Whoever ordered their arrest is the only person entitled to request their release".
Chucri Sader, former president of the Council of State, explained to L'Orient-le-Jour: "Judge Oueidate forgets that he recused himself, and there, he wants to regain control of the file. This is unprecedented in the history of a judiciary on a global scale."
"The prosecutor acts as a pawn of the regime"
The turn of events provoked the ire of the families of victims, initially satisfied by the relaunch of an investigation.
On Wednesday evening, a dozen people demonstrated outside the home of Ghassan Oueidate.
“We had been fighting for thirteen months so that justice could resume its course, so seeing Judge Bitar back in action caused us a very big surprise, confides to France 24, Paul Naggear, father of 'Alexandra, one of the youngest victims of the tragedy. Her courage gave us hope in Lebanese justice, even if we expected a reaction from this criminal regime which, from the start, did everything to neutralize the judge".
>> To read also on France 24: Explosions at the port of Beirut: who wants the skin of judge Tarek Bitar?
The judge's investigation is blocked by an appeal for relinquishment and numerous appeals for invalidation presented by politicians summoned as part of the investigation, including the former Minister of Public Works Youssef Fenianos.
Considering that the magistrate exceeds his functions, the ruling class refuses to lift the immunities of several former elected officials and security officials whom he wishes to question.
In September 2021, a senior Hezbollah official even threatened to "unbolt" Judge Bitar accused of being politicized, while rumors circulated around the involvement of the pro-Iranian party in the storage of tons of nitrate from ammonium, causing the explosions.
On October 14, armed clashes killed 6 people in Beirut on the sidelines of a demonstration organized by Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement in front of the Palace of Justice, to demand the replacement of Judge Bitar.
"I expected a counter-attack from the prosecutor, but not of this magnitude, and certainly not that it would put an end to the rule of law, or what was left of it, continues Paul Naggear. Because that's what it's all about, the rule of law is dead in Lebanon, and faced with the implosion of one of the last institutions that still seemed to work, it's no longer Judge Bitar or even the explosions of August 4 which are at stake, but everyone and all the investigations in progress".
And to add: "the prosecutor's offensive against the judge is actually aimed at those who still believe in justice in this country, and demonstrates that Lebanon is in the process of definitively transforming itself into a banana republic".
Despite the anger and disappointment, Paul Naggear believes that Tarek Bitar is still the man for the job, believing that he should not throw in the towel when "in front of him, the prosecutor acts like a pawn of the regime , even though he had distanced himself from the file".
"I have confidence in him because he has worked tenaciously since he was appointed, he explains. He has not made a mistake so far, and does not hesitate to attack to the big fish and we feel that he has the support of the international judges who are following the case. I notice for example that he has returned to action in recent days after the visit of French magistrates".
Tarek Bitar spoke on January 18 with a French judicial delegation that came to Lebanon to investigate the death of two French citizens during the tragedy.
"We are heading for a direct confrontation"
However, the families of the victims are worried about what will happen next.
Will Tarek Bitar be fired?
How can he continue his work if he fails to enforce his decisions?
"To be honest, we don't have many cards left to play now other than putting maximum pressure on the prosecutor to realize the scope and consequences of his actions which violate our cause and the very essence of the justice in Lebanon, confesses Paul Naggear. It is the height of the height to see the judge in charge of the investigation being prosecuted by those he has decided to prosecute as part of the investigation!
The committee of the families of the August 4 victims called for a rally on Thursday in front of the Palace of Justice in Beirut.
In September 2022, the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) decided to appoint a substitute investigating judge, before giving up following opposition from the families of victims and the president of the CSM, Judge Souheil Abboud.
"We are heading for a direct confrontation if Judge Bitar is removed from the case, we must mobilize very quickly to prevent this, and alert the international community to the fact that Lebanon has become a totally failed state" , says Paul Naggear.
The latter expects a lot from complaints lodged abroad, far from the judicial system, judged to be too dependent on a political class that has refused any idea of international investigation.
On July 13, relatives of victims filed a lawsuit in Texas, with the support of the Swiss foundation Accountability Now, against the American-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS ASA, which is believed to be linked to the chartering of the vessel ' Rhosus' on board which were the incriminated tons of ammonium nitrate.
On Wednesday evening, the NGOs Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International urged the United Nations Human Rights Council "to urgently adopt a resolution to set up an impartial commission of inquiry".
"It is perfectly clear that the Lebanese authorities are determined to obstruct justice," they said in a joint statement Wednesday evening.
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