Photo: Judge Tarek Bitar was appointed lead investigator into the Beirut Port blast ( background ) after the removal of his predecessor Judge Fadi Sawwan in February, 2021 . The background of Bitar’s picture shows the huge silos of Beirut Port that exploded on Aug 4 , 2020, which killed over 220 people , injured about 7000 and left 300, 000 homeless after 2,750 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate Exploded . They were stored there for nearly 7 years. , reportedly for use by the Syrian regime in its barrel bombs against the civilians in Syria. Former President Michel Aoun and former PM Hassan Diab were informed about the explosive chemical 2 weeks before the explosion. but did nothing about it . Hezbollah and its allies successfully blocked the investigation and campaigned for months to get the courageous judge fired from his position like they did to his predecessor . The Lebanese government , the presidency and the parliament leadership were all at the time controlled by Hezbollah
Beirut -Former PM Hassan Diab, an ally of the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group appeared Friday before Judge Tarek Bitar for interrogation in the case of the August 2020 catastrophic blast at Beirut’s port.
File: Former PM Hassan Diab left and Hezbollah’ slain leader Hassan Nasrallah
Diab , who is not currently living in Lebanon was reportedly advised by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, upon his arrival in Beirut to appear before Judge Bitar in order not to be accused of obstructing his investigation.
This comes after former General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim and former State Security chief Tony Saliba were interrogated by Bitar earlier this month.
The August 4, 2020 explosion killed more than 220 people, injured some 7000 , left 300, 000 homeless and devastated swathes of Lebanon’s capital.
Abbas Ibrahim was the first official to admit that the explosion was caused by the chemical that was stored there for nearly 7 years
Authorities said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a the huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate had been stored illegally .
Diab and former president Michel Aoun were officially informed about the presence of the ammonium nitrate 2 weeks before the explosion but didn’t do anything about it
Nobody has been held accountable for the blast, one of history’s largest non-nuclear explosions ever.
Bitar, who took up the case more than four years ago, resumed his investigation in January after a two-year pause
Both Ibrahim and Saliba initially refused to appear before Bitar , claiming immunity. Both are known for their strong support for Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has been obstructing Bitar’s investigation for years accusing him of bias and demanded his dismissal, after he accused several of its ally of involvement in the blast .
Bitar resumed the investigation after the war weakened Hezbollah and its influence in the country.
The war devastated Hezbollah militarily and left its strongholds in south Lebanon in ruins
As the power balance shifted, Lebanon parliament in January elected former army chief Joseph Aoun as president and former International Court of Justice judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister, after a more than two-year leadership vacuum.
Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by impunity.
Iran which reportedly shipped the ammonium nitrate to Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2013 for use by its ally Syrian president Bashar al Assad in its barrel bombs against the Syrian civilians experienced a similar explosion on Sunday at its largest port in Bandar Abbas in which dozens were killed and hundreds were wounded when different types of chemicals exploded
The Associated Press cited British security firm Ambrey as saying the port received in March sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and whose mishandling could have led to the explosion.