Lebanon ex minister appears before court in Beirut blast inquiry

Lebanon ex minister appears before court in Beirut blast inquiry

A former Lebanese interior minister appeared in court Thursday for the first time before a judge investigating the 2020 Beirut port explosion, a judicial source told AFP. The catastrophic blast on 4 August 2020, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, devastated large parts of Beirut, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500. Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his investigation into the incident in January after being forced to …

For the first time, former Lebanese Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk appeared today (Thursday) before the judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion case nearly five years ago. A judicial source stated in press statements that the interrogation session of former Minister Nohad Machnouk before Judge Tarek Bitar has ended, indicating that the session focused on the report he received (while in office) on April 5, 2014, which spoke of the d…

In 2021, Judge Tarek Bitar was forced to suspend his investigation into the explosion, which resulted in more than 220 deaths and more than 6,500 injuries as a result of political pressure.