Bitar says won't step down from probe
The judge leading the investigation into Beirut's deadly 2020 port blast will not step down from the probe, he told AFP Wednesday, rejecting charges brought against him by Lebanon's prosecutor general.
"I am still the investigative judge and I will not step down from this case," Tarek Bitar said, adding that prosecutor general Ghassan Oueidat "has no authority to charge me".
Oueidat "cannot charge a judge who has already charged him", Bitar said.
Oueidat, earlier on Wednesday, charged Bitar for "rebelling against the judiciary", slapped him with a travel ban and summoned him for questioning on Thursday morning.
Source: Agence France Presse
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