The President of the Lebanese Republic, Michel Aoun, informed the Public Prosecutor of the Discrimination, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, that he is absolutely ready to testify in the Beirut Port explosion case, if the judicial investigator wishes to hear him.
This came during a meeting between Aoun and Oweidat today, Friday, at the presidential palace in Baabda (east of Beirut), according to a statement by the presidency through its official account on Twitter.
According to the statement, Aoun assured Oweidat that no one is above justice, no matter how high they are, and that justice is achieved by the competent judiciary, under which guarantees are available.
Aoun informed the Public Prosecutor of his absolute willingness to testify in the port explosion case, if the judicial investigator in the case, Tariq Al-Bitar, wanted to hear him.
The President of the Republic stressed the need to achieve full justice in the crime of the Beirut port explosion, according to the same statement.
why now?
These statements come days before the first anniversary of the harbor explosion, which occurred on August 4, 2020, which resulted in the death and injury of thousands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands, as well as massive material damage to residential and commercial buildings.
In July, the judicial investigator in the case requested permission from the Minister of Interior, Mohamed Fahmy, to interrogate the Director of Public Security, Abbas Ibrahim, as well as 5 security and military leaders, including former army chief Jean Kahwagi.
However, the Minister of Interior refused to grant permission to investigate Ibrahim in the port explosion case, according to a press statement by the judicial investigator.
Al-Bitar also requested the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of 3 former ministers (from the current deputies) to investigate them in the case, and announced his intention to question the caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, but the parliament announced a week ago that it intends to form an investigation committee to consider whether or not to lift the immunity of the wanted MPs. for justice in the case.
The explosion was caused by a quantity of ammonium nitrate stored in the port, which damaged a number of the capital's streets, killing more than 200 people, wounding more than 6,000, and displacing 300,000 people.