Lebanese commemorate Beirut port blasts, call for justice for victims

BEIRUT, Aug 6: Families of the victims who died in the 2020 Beirut port blasts commemorated the third anniversary of the catastrophic incident on Friday, urging authorities to accelerate investigations into the incident to bring justice to their loved ones.

Thousands of people, including civil society activists, political figures, and parliament members, participated in a commemoration march, which started from the Beirut Fire Brigade to run until the main road opposite the city port.

Families of the victims held photos of their loved ones and banners calling for holding those involved accountable while demanding to form an international fact-finding committee.

"We came here because, after three years, we still have hope; we are still asking for justice for all the victims who died on Aug. 4, 2020, including my sister Diana Khoury," said Zeina Khoury, one of the marchers.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati also expressed his hope that justice would be manifested as soon as possible.

"The truth alone heals the wounds, and there is every hope that the sun of justice will appear in the Beirut port explosion case as soon as possible so that the souls of the martyrs may rest in peace," he said.

The investigation into the port explosion was suspended because of disagreements between political forces regarding interrogating former ministers suspected of negligence.

The judicial investigator into the blasts, Judge Tarek Bitar, was suspended from completing the investigation in December 2021, pending a decision on lawsuits filed against him by several deputies and ministers accusing him of violating the provisions of the constitution and laws.

Bitar had accused several former ministers, including former Prime Minister Hassan Diab, former Ministers of Public Works Youssef Fenianos and Ghazi Zeaiter, of negligence at the time of the explosion.

Judge Bitar re-opened the investigation in January this year by pressing charges against several security officials. However, Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oweidat considered the charges void, saying the judiciary has not yet decided on cases calling for Bitar's suspension from probing the case or transferring the investigation to another judge.

The Beirut port was rocked by two massive explosions on Aug. 4, 2020, killing over 220 people, injuring thousands, and destroying around 50,000 housing units with material losses estimated at 15 billion U.S. dollars.