Lebanon’s Military Judiciary Takes Over Investigations Into Port Explosion

 A man is seen at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
A man is seen at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
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Lebanon’s Military Judiciary Takes Over Investigations Into Port Explosion

 A man is seen at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
A man is seen at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

The Military Court received the investigation case in the Beirut port explosion to conduct interrogations and issue arrest warrants against the suspects, until a forensic investigator is appointed over the matter and the case is returned to the Judicial Council.

In parallel, the State Prosecution gave instructions to the security forces to handover the detainees who are held pending investigation, to be referred to the Government Commissioner to the Military Court, Judge Fadi Akiki, to press charges against them and refer them to the Military Investigation Judge for questioning.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military court received the case and that Akiki began studying the preliminary investigations and would press charges against the detainees and all the individuals who would be found involved, whether premeditatedly or due to their negligence.

Judicial sources also told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military judiciary investigations were temporary until a judicial investigator is appointed after the resigned government decided to refer the case to the Judicial Council.

While sources believed that the referral to the Judicial Council was aimed at blocking the way to the demands for an international investigation committee, which is rejected by the President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, other observers noted that the Council taking over the issue would mean that the case was a “threat to the country’s internal security a disruption of civil peace.”



Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.