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Optimism in Lebanon over Resumption of Investigations into Beirut Port Explosion

Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Optimism in Lebanon over Resumption of Investigations into Beirut Port Explosion

Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)

Acting Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar is expected to discuss with Judge Tariq Bitar the resumption of the investigations into the 2020 Beirut Port blast, which have been halted for more than two years.

Visitors who met with Hajjar, who recently assumed his duties, reported that the judge has “a vision for resolving the legal obstacles that are hindering the work of the judicial investigator.”

Cooperation between the judicial investigator and the Cassation Public Prosecution had stopped since the beginning of February 2023, against the backdrop of the legal jurisprudence issued by Bitar, in which he stated that the judicial investigator “appointed to investigate a crime affecting state security cannot be dismissed.”

Following this decision, Bitar announced the resumption of his investigations, and issued a list of the names of other defendants, including former Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat, and Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Al-Khoury, and set dates for their interrogation.

Oweidat quickly gave instructions to the judges and wrote to the Cassation Prosecutor’s office to stop dealing with Bitar permanently, and refrain from receiving any documents from him or carrying out his memos.

On Wednesday, Hajjar met with a delegation of the families of the victims of the port explosion, who expressed their fears of “attempts to silence the truth,” stressing that they were counting on his courage and how he ignores political pressure.

Sources who attended the meeting said the prosecutor promised the families of the victims that it is unacceptable for him to be the head of the Discriminatory Public Prosecution while the investigation remains frozen.

The sources added that Hajjar asked his visitors to be patient and trust his belief in their cause.

Hajjar met with Bitar days after he was appointed head of the Cassation Public Prosecution and assumed his duties. Informed sources said the meeting, which lasted over an hour, was “very positive”, signaling a new phase of cooperation between the general prosecution and judicial investigator.

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Syrians Commemorate Uprising Anniversary for First Time Since Assad's Fall

This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
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Syrians Commemorate Uprising Anniversary for First Time Since Assad's Fall

This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)

Syrians gathered on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of their uprising in public demonstrations in Damascus for the first time since president Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

The demonstration in Damascus's Umayyad Square is the first in the capital after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of the ousted president's supporters.

Activists also called on people to gather in the cities of Homs, Idlib and Hama at demonstrations under the slogan "Syria is victorious".

By the afternoon, dozens of people had gathered in the capital's Umayyad Square, amid a heavy security presence and with military helicopters overhead dropping leaflets bearing the slogan "there is no room for hate among us".

Security forces were stationed at all entrances to the square, with some of them handing out flowers to demonstrators while speakers blared revolutionary and Islamic songs, AFP reported.

Many attendees waved the Syrian flag -- officially changed from one used under Assad to the design from the independence era -- and held signs reading "the revolution has triumphed".

Hanaa al-Daghri, 32, was among those in the square and told AFP "what is happening now is a dream we never dared to imagine".

"I left Damascus 12 years ago because I was wanted, and I would have never had any hope of returning were it not for the liberation," she said.

"We are missing many friends who are no longer with us, but their bloodshed brought us to where we are today."

Under bright sunlight, Abdul Moneim Nimr, 41, stood surrounded by his friends who raised a large flag and began dancing and singing.

"We used to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution in northern Syria and today we are celebrating in Umayyad Square. This is a blessed victory," he said.

Syria's conflict began with peaceful demonstrations on March 15, 2011, in which thousands protested against Assad's government, before it spiralled into civil war after his violent repression of the protests.

This year's commemoration marks the first since Assad was toppled on December 8 by opposition factions.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the offensive, has since been named interim president.

Hundreds also gathered at the main square in the opposition's former stronghold of Idlib, an AFP journalist saw, raising the flags of Syria and HTS amid a heavy security presence and despite the Ramadan fast and relatively hot weather.

On Thursday, Sharaa signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating a five-year transition period before a permanent constitution is to be put into place.

Analysts have criticised the declaration, saying it grants too much power to Sharaa and fails to provide sufficient protection to the country's minorities.

It also came a week after Syria's Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's Alawite minority, was gripped by the worst wave of violence since his overthrow.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, security forces and allied groups killed at least 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites, in the violence that began on March 6.

The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday: "It is fourteen years since Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest, demanding dignity, freedom and a better future."

He added in a statement that despite the brutal civil war, "the resilience of Syrians and their pursuit of justice, dignity and peace endure. And they now deserve a transition that is worthy of this."

He called for "an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians".

On the occasion of the anniversary, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council in northeast Syria reiterated its objection to the constitutional declaration, saying it "did not adequately reflect the aspirations of the Syrian people to build a just and democratic state".