Thu 10 December 2020:
The Lebanese prosecutor investigating last summer’s Beirut port explosion has filed charges against the caretaker prime minister and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence leading to the deaths of hundreds of people, the state’s official news agency said.
Fadi Sawan, the judge investigating the blast, on Thursday charged Diab, former public works ministers Ghazi Zaeiter and Youssef Fenianos and former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil.
The four are the most senior individuals to be indicted so far in the probe, which is being conducted in secrecy. Anger has been building up over the slow investigation, lack of answers and the fact that no senior officials have been indicted.
The decision to prosecute the outgoing prime minister and former ministers is based on verified written correspondence sent to them, warning the officials about nearly 3,000 tonnes of explosive material at Beirut’s port, the source said.
In response to the charges, Diab’s office in a statement said the prime minister’s “conscience is clear” and that he had dealt with the explosion issue in a “responsible and transparent” manner.
“This surprising targeting goes beyond the person to the position per se, and Hassan Diab will not allow the premiership to be targeted by any party,” the statement said.
Diab, a former professor at the American University of Beirut who became prime minister late last year, resigned a few days after the blast, which levelled the country’s main port and destroyed large parts of the city. Diab has continued to function in caretaker capacity while efforts to form a new government have floundered amid political disputes.
The blast killed some 200 people, injured more than 6,000 and caused billions of dollars in damage to the capital. Diab’s government resigned in the wake of the explosion but has continued to function in a caretaker capacity since.
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