Crimeupdated 57m ago2 min read
Judge Tareq Al-Bitar Charges Lebanese Army Officers Over Beirut Port Ammonium Nitrate
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Judge Tareq al-Bitar charged four Lebanese Army officers in Beirut port explosion case. He interrogated retired Brigadiers Georges Moussa, Mounir Abou Zeid, Manuel Kirjian, and ex-Chief Walid Salman.
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Charges in Port Blast Case
Investigative magistrate Judge Tareq al-Bitar accused four Lebanese Army officers in the Beirut port explosion case and interrogated retired Brigadiers Georges Moussa and Mounir Abu-Zeid, along with Manuel Karjian, according to MTV information. Judge Tarek Bitar charged four Lebanese Army officers and questioned three retired brigadier generals, naming George Moussa, Mounir Abou Zeid and Manuel Kargian, plus former Army Chief of Staff, retired Major General Walid Salman.
Bitar interrogated and charged the Lebanese Army’s former chief of staff Walid Salman and retired army brigadier generals George Moussa, Munir Abou Zeid and Manuel Kirjian, citing the National News Agency. The interrogation of the officers followed a substantive pleading prepared by Attorney General Judge Mohammed Saab, who pressed charges and requested their interrogation over suspicions regarding their knowledge of the presence of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port.
Explosion Toll and Allegations
The massive explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500, and laid waste to swathes of the capital. Lebanese authorities said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.
Nobody has been punished for the blast despite public anger and families of the blast victims demanding justice. Current and former politicians, security and military officials, and civil servants were previously charged by Bitar, and the case had been bogged down by political and legal wrangling since 2023.
Procedural Momentum and Stakes
Bitar resumed his investigations last year as Lebanon's balance of power shifted, after President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took office following a 2023-2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Several legal impediments to Bitar's work were removed, including the lifting of a travel ban against him.
The investigative judge, Tariq al-Bitar, indicted four Lebanese army officers, including former Chief of Staff retired General Walid Salman, along with three retired officers, as part of ongoing investigations related to the explosion that shook the Lebanese capital in August 2020. Tariq al-Bitar continues the investigations to determine the responsibilities associated with the disaster that occurred on August 4, 2020, which resulted in casualties and injuries and caused extensive damage in the Lebanese capital.