Report: Court of Cassation Studies Request to Recuse Judge from Port Blast Probe

Investigating Judge Fadi Sawwan handed the Court of Cassation, headed by Judge Jamal Hajjar, the entire file of his investigation into the port blast, to decide on a memorandum submitted by two ex-ministers who challenged Sawwan’s authority, calling that he be recused from the investigation, Asharq el-Awsat daily reported Thursday.

Judicial sources told the newspaper that the Court of Cassation “has sent notifications to the parties to the case, and is awaiting answers regarding the request to transfer the file from Sawwan.”

With the file handed to the Cassation Court, all investigations into the case have stopped as of yesterday morning, until the Court issues its decision, said the daily.

Judicial sources said the court is “not bound by a time limit,” but that Judge Hajjar and his advisers are keen to deliver a quick decision taking into consideration the seriousness of the file.

Sawwan, the lead investigator into last summer’s horrific explosion at the Beirut port, filed charges against caretaker PM Hassan Diab and former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, as well as Ghazi Zeiter and Youssef Fenianos, both former ministers of public works, earlier this month, accusing them of negligence that led to the death of hundreds of people.

The charges caused a political storm in Lebanon and Diab and other ministers refused to appear before the judge for questioning as defendants, calling the charges politically motivated and selective.

Two of the former ministers challenged the authority of Sawwan calling on him to be recused from the investigation and a new judge named. The challenge prompted a pause in the probe that has cast doubt on the fate of the investigation into the blast that killed over 200 people and destroyed parts of Beirut.

The catastrophic explosion was caused by the ignition of a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate that — it later transpired — had been stored at the port for six years with the knowledge of top security officials and politicians who did nothing about it. They include senior security officials, the army command, the president and former prime ministers. The blast killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands, devastating large parts of the capital Beirut.

The challenge to Judge Sawwan’s summoning is rooted in disparate interpretations over who has the authority to question ministers and heads of governments. According to Lebanon’s constitution, a separate council made up of judges and politicians and set up by parliament is entrusted with trying ministers and premiers for crimes of high treason, dereliction of duty and breach of the constitution — a body that has never been activated by parliament.