صدى البلد: متروكين من 2005 تحرك عاجل من الجيش اللبناني لفحص 700 مستوعب بمرفأ بيروت elbalad.news - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from elbalad.news Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wednesday, 16 December, 2020 - 10:45
FILE PHOTO: A soldier stands at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Beirut - Nazir Rida
Two former Lebanese ministers charged with negligence over a huge explosion at Beirut port in August that killed 200 people indicated on Wednesday they would not appear for questioning before the judge handling the case.
Judge Fadi Sawan charged three former ministers and the caretaker prime minister last week, sparking a fierce debate about whether the judge had the authority to charge the politicians in a nation still seeking answers about the blast.
BEIRUT: Two former Lebanese ministers, Ghazi Zaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil, have refused to appear before Lebanon’s judicial investigator as part of criminal proceedings following the Beirut explosion. Judge Fadi Sawan charged the ex-ministers, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and former minister Youssef Fenianos last week with “criminal negligence causing the death and injury of hundreds of people.” The two former ministers justified their decision by saying that they “did not receive a formal summons.” The pair also submitted a request to remove Sawan from the case because of “legitimate suspicions” regarding his neutrality. A judicial source told Arab News that the revelation means “Sawan should stop the investigation with Zaiter and Hassan Khalil until the Court of Cassation decides on the recusal request after he delivers his remarks.”
Judicial investigator into the port blast Judge Fadi Sawwan on Wednesday rescheduled the interrogation of ex-ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoaiter to January 4, the National News Agency said.
Sawwan’s move comes after Khalil and Zoaiter failed to show up at a session scheduled for today, Wednesday and after he did not receive official responses as to whether they have received notification memos from parliament, NNA added.
Also on Wednesday, Sawwan heard the testimony of former army chief of staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman, who appeared before him as a witness. He also filed charges against the president and two directors of the port’s administration and investment authority, accusing them of negligence and causing the death of innocents.