Today is the fifth anniversary of the massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing at least 218 people. After years of political and legal obstacles, the investigation into the explosion has recently resumed.
On August 4, 2020, at 6:08 PM (local time), a massive explosion occurs in the port of Beirut. It later turns out that about 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been unsafely stored in a warehouse since 2013.
The explosion killed at least 218 people and injured 6,000. A large part of the historic city lies in ruins. Thousands of Lebanese people have lost their homes.
There is anger among the Lebanese population, which is already suffering from a major financial crisis. They hold the government responsible for the explosion. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also concludes in a study that the then president, the prime minister and high officials already knew about the ammonium nitrate and the risks.
Three former ministers and outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab are charged with negligence in December 2020. But investigating judge Fadi Sawan, who is leading the investigation, is removed from the case shortly afterwards. It is one of the first obstacles in the case.
New government promises to resume investigation
Tarek Bitar succeeds Sawan as investigating judge, but he is also opposed by the political elite in the country. For example, he wants to question several politicians about the explosion. But when they refuse to do so, the investigation is stopped. A complaint is also filed against Bitar.
He is not removed from his position, but the investigation then stalls for years. It appears that the investigation can be resumed in January 2023. Bitar wants to charge Diab and two of his former ministers with murder. But the chief prosecutor of Lebanon thwarts that attempt, HRW writes. The name of this prosecutor also appears in the investigation.
There are still few developments in the investigation. But when a new government takes office in early 2025, the situation changes. The new President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam promise that the investigation into the explosion will be completed and that the perpetrators will be held accountable, writes news agency AP.
Bitar resumes the investigation. He summons several suspects to bring the case back to the attention. The investigating judge actually wants to file charges in the summer, but has to postpone that until the end of the year.
Relatives rely on a little bit of hope
His investigation report, which is already about 1,200 pages long, is still missing a fourth and final report from France. That country is conducting its own investigation into the explosion, because several victims of the explosion were of French nationality. France has already shared three reports with Bitar since 2021.
The new developments give the Lebanese population a little bit of hope, after the investigation has been stalled for so long. George Bezdjian lost his daughter Jessica five years ago. She was in the hospital on the day of the explosion, where she worked as a nurse.
Bezdjian tells AP that he “begged God” to take his life and spare his daughter. “But he didn’t answer,” he says. All that matters to him now is an indictment and the prosecution of those responsible.