Arrest of prominent port case activist sparks protests, outrage
The arrest of a prominent activist in the port blast case, William Noon, has sparked protests across the country and political condemnation.
Noon, the brother of port blast victim Joe Noon, has been arrested by the State Security agency at the request of Beirut Attorney General Judge Zaher Hamadeh.
According to media reports, Noon is accused of threatening to “blow up the Justice Palace with dynamite” during a protest.
As news of his arrest broke overnight, a large number of relatives of port blast victims staged a sit-in outside the State Security dept. in Beirut’s Ramlet el-Bayda area where the young activist was being held. MPs Melhem Khalaf, Razi al-Hajj and Jihad Pakradouni also joined the sit-in along with a number of lawyers before entering the dept. to follow up on the case.
Scuffles later ensued between protesters and security forces in Ramlet el-Bayda as demonstrators blocked a road there as well as the Saifi road in Beirut, the Jbeil highway and the eastern lane of the Kfar Abida highway. The Jbeil highway eventually witnessed scuffles the army in which a protester was injured. MP Ziad Hawat of the Lebanese Forces bloc also joined the demonstrators there.
According to media reports, more protests are scheduled for Saturday.
Families of Beirut port blast victims had on Tuesday stormed the Justice Palace in Beirut in protest at perceived political and judicial obstruction of the investigation, a few days after the judiciary ended a lengthy judicial strike.
The investigation into the blast, which killed over 230 people, injured thousands and caused billions of dollars in damage has been blocked for months now by Lebanon's political powers. That came after three former ministers filed legal challenges against investigative Judge Tarek Bitar effectively suspending his investigations.
Many blame the tragedy on the Lebanese government's longtime corruption, but the elite's decades-old lock on power has ensured they are untouchable. The Aug. 4, 2020 explosion occurred when hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, a material used in fertilizers, detonated at the port.
It later emerged that the ammonium nitrate had been shipped to Lebanon in 2013 and stored improperly at a port warehouse ever since. Senior political and security officials knew of its presence but did nothing.
Lead investigative judge Tarek Bitar has charged four former senior government officials with intentional killing and negligence. He also charged several top security officials in the case.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/294966 |