Court of Appeals judge Habib Mezher has been notified of his recusal in the case against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, Lebanese media reported on Tuesday
MTV reported that a heated exchange erupted after Mezher was notified of a recusal request against him
This development comes after Lebanon’s top Christian spiritual leader Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rhi on Sunday slammed Mezher accusing him of obstructing the probe into the devastating port bombing by questioning the work of the investigative Judge Tarek Bitar .”
Patriarch Rai’s attack came afterJudge Mezher suspended Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe in a controversial move. Mezher is reportedly close to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, who are strongly opposed to Bitar’s role.
“It is a crime when some judges turn the judiciary into partisan and sectarian squares, especially in the port and Ain al-Remmaneh cases,” al-Rai said in his Sunday Mass sermon.
He added: “In the face of the legal violations that we are witnessing, we wonder whether some judges act at the request of some officials, parties and sects.”
“What’s happening regarding the probe into the port bombing is really deplorable: an appeal after an appeal, a recusal request after a recusal request and a suspension after a suspension, as the souls of the martyrs wait, as the families of the martyrs wait and as the world waits,” the patriarch went on to say.
“Why is there such disregard for the blood of more than 218 victims and 7,000 wounded people, for the destruction of half of Beirut and its suburbs and for the displacement of hundreds of families?” al-Rai wondered.
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