Nasrallah Lashes Out at Bitar, Says Probe 'Can't Continue This Way'

by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 October 2021, 20:45

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday launched his fiercest attack to date on Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, calling for replacing him with a “transparent and honest judge.”

“The port blast judge is acting like an ultimate ruler in this file,” Nasrallah lamented in a televised address.

Noting that Bitar is “continuing with the mistakes of the former judge,” Hizbullah’s leader told the victims’ families that they “will not reach the truth with this judge,” blasting him as “selective” and “politicized.”

“The investigative judge should identify those who brought the nitrates ship to Beirut port,” he said.

“Why haven't you heard the testimonies of President (Michel) Aoun ex-president (Michel) Suleiman?” Nasrallah added, addressing Bitar.

“Has Judge Bitar asked the former premiers whether they are responsible or not? He instead rushed to ex-PM Hassan Diab. Why did you ask the former ministers and not the current ones?” Nasrallah went on to say.

He also noted that “the responsibility of judges is bigger than that of presidents, ministers and MPs, because they're the ones who gave approvals for the nitrates ship.”

“The judiciary wants to protect itself, but Judge Bitar wants to bring a respectable premier like Hassan Diab to prison! Is this a state of law? Is this a state of judiciary?” Nasrallah decried.

He added that Bitar should have told the families of the victims “how the ship came, under whose name and under whose approval.”

“There is a big disaster that the country will go to if the judge continues in this manner,” Nasrallah warned.

Addressing the Higher Judicial Council, Hizbullah’s leader cautioned that “what’s happening in the port blast file has nothing to do with justice or law.”

“It must resolve the issue, and if it doesn’t, Cabinet must resolve this issue,” he said.

“What's happening in the Beirut port probe is a very, very, very, very big mistake and we won't accept for the issue to continue in this manner in the coming days,” Nasrallah added.

Timeline

11 October 2021, 21:34
Nasrallah: The port blast judge is acting like an ultimate ruler in this file.
11 October 2021, 21:30
Nasrallah: The responsibility of judges is bigger than that of presidents, ministers and MPs, because they're the ones who gave approvals for the nitrates ship.
11 October 2021, 21:29
Nasrallah: What's happening in the Beirut port probe is a very big mistake and we won't accept for the issue to continue in this manner in the coming days.
11 October 2021, 21:20
Nasrallah to Bitar: Why haven't you heard the testimonies of President Aoun and ex-president Suleiman?
11 October 2021, 21:19
Nasrallah: We are not calling for ending the probe and we want a transparent and honest judge.
11 October 2021, 21:18
Nasrallah to Bitar: Why haven't you heard the testimonies of President Aoun ex-president Suleiman?
11 October 2021, 21:15
Nasrallah: Judge Bitar's work is selective and politicized.
11 October 2021, 21:15
Nasrallah: The investigative judge should identify those who brought the nitrates ship to Beirut port.
11 October 2021, 21:10
Nasrallah to families of victims: You will not reach the truth with this judge.
11 October 2021, 21:09
Nasrallah: We are keen on investigations into the port blast and we will insist on accountability even if the families of the victims abandon the case.
11 October 2021, 21:08
Nasrallah on port case: The current judge is continuing with the mistakes of the former judge.
11 October 2021, 21:02
Nasrallah: I reiterate my call for the government to seek a waiver of sanctions in order to import fuel from Iran.
11 October 2021, 21:02
Nasrallah: I call on the government to accept the Iranian proposal for the construction of two power plants and to obtain a U.S. waiver of sanctions.
11 October 2021, 20:58
Nasrallah: The issue of electricity should be the government's priority in the coming session and the country must be put on the track of solution, seeing as the issue needs a drastic solution.
11 October 2021, 20:51
Nasrallah: We call for lowering the voting age to 18.
11 October 2021, 20:47
Nasrallah: We will not oppose expat voting although it is not fair for us in Hizbullah, seeing as we cannot campaign or vote freely in some countries.
11 October 2021, 20:45
Nasrallah: We call for holding the parliamentary elections on time and within the constitutional timeframe.