Lebanon: Probe into port blast, which killed 200, suspended
Judge indicted the caretaker premier, ex-officials, triggering objections
Cairo: A Lebanese judge, investigating the deadly explosion that hit Beirut in August, has suspended the probe into the high-profile case after his charges against ex-officials were contested, Lebanon’s official news agency NNA reported Thursday.
Last week, Judge Fadi Sawan indicted caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zaieter and Youssef Fenianos with negligence that caused many deaths in the blast and demanded their questioning.
None of the four has shown up for interrogation.
The indictment has also drawn objections from prime minister-designate Saad Al Hariri and the Iran-allied Hezbollah movement.
Legal deadline
Zaieter and Khalil argued that the move against them violated the constitution and presented a request to replace Sawan with another investigating judge, according to the agency.
Sawan has a legal deadline of 10 days to provide an answer to the request, NNA said.
The August 4 blast at the Beirut Port killed around 200 people and injured thousands of others.
The explosion fuelled public discontent and forced the Diab government to resign and continue work in a caretaker capacity.
The row over the indictment comes as Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades.