Two Amal MPs, Ghazi Zaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil, filed a recusal lawsuit in opposition to Choose Tarek Bitar, the lead Beirut port blast investigator, earlier than the Felony Courtroom of Cassation.
The 2 lawmakers, who’re suspects within the Beirut Port explosion and have been reelected as MPs final yr, cited “professional suspicion” as the rationale for submitting the lawsuit.
LBCI tv reported that Khalil had additionally filed a lawsuit in opposition to Bitar earlier than the Judicial Inspection Fee, accusing the choose of “willful misconduct” within the port blast case.
The submitting of the lawsuits got here after Choose Bitar took Lebanon abruptly final Monday when he resumed his investigation after a 13-month hiatus. He charged eight new suspects together with high-level safety officers and Lebanon’s high prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat.
Bitar stated that he primarily based his choice on a authorized evaluate he performed himself and a supply near him stated that the choose “is satisfied it’s essential to carry officers accountable and end his mission.”
The reopening of the case sparked a judicial battle between Bitar and Oueidat, placing Lebanon’s notoriously politicized justice system to one more take a look at. Oueidat retaliated by charging Bitar with “usurping energy” and insubordination and slapped the choose with a journey ban.
Nonetheless, Bitar stated that he wouldn’t step down even when it prices him his life and that Oueidat “has no authority” to intervene within the case.
In the meantime, caretaker Justice Minister Khoury will return to Beirut on Monday night to renew his work and tackle the rift between judges and discover a resolution for the Beirut port file.
The scenario in Lebanon stays tense because the judicial system continues to face challenges to find justice for the victims of the Beirut port blast.
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