Bulgarian court rejects Lebanon’s extradition request over Beirut port blast

Fi[e photo of Grechushkin owner of the ship that brought the deadly chemical to Beirut port

No senior figure has been held accountable since the devastating explosion more than five years ago.

By Caolán Magee and News Agencies

A Bulgarian court has rejected Lebanon’s request to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a Russian-Cypriot shipowner wanted in connection with the 2020 Beirut port explosion, a hammer blow for the city that came during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic and amid a deepening economic crisis.

Grechushkin, 48, is the former owner of the Rhosus, the ship allegedly carrying the ammonium nitrate that detonated at Beirut port on August 4, 2020.

The blast killed at least 220 people, injured at least 7000, and devastated large parts of Beirut, leaving 300,000 homeless.

It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, generating a seismic event of 3.3 magnitude felt as far away as Syria, Israel and Cyprus.

FILE – In this Aug. 2021 file photo, a monument that represents justice stands in front of towering grain silos that were gutted in the massive August 4, 2020 explosion at the port that killed at least 220 people , wounded over 7,000, destroyed a large section of the capital and left 300, 000 homeless in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah and and its allies have been trying for years to get rid of Judge Tarek Bitar who is probing the blast and were able to suspend his investigation several times . a move that outraged the relatives of the victims of the blast . Hezbollah is reportedly concerned over being exposed for its role in acquiring, storing and using of the ammonium nitrate that exploded at the port (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Grechushkin was detained in Bulgaria in September on an Interpol notice issued at Lebanon’s request and has been held pending extradition proceedings.

Ekaterina Dimitrova, Grechushkin’s lawyer, told reporters that the Sofia City Court ruled Lebanon had not provided “sufficient evidence to ensure that the death penalty will not be imposed on him or, if imposed, will not be carried out”. The hearing was closed to the media.

Al Jazeera