Khalil, Zoaiter Ask Cassation Court to Look into Anti-Bitar Lawsuit

Ex-ministers Ghazi Zoaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil on Thursday filed a request asking the Court of Cassation to again look into a recusal lawsuit they had filed against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, MTV reported.

The request was filed by Zoaiter’s son, the lawyer Mohammed Zoaiter, before the head of the First Chamber of the Court of Cassation Judge Naji Eid on behalf of the two former ministers.

The request asks the Court to look into the lawsuit that had been filed against Bitar “seeing as Eid has become the relevant authority to look into recusal lawsuits,” the TV network added.

Informed sources had told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that Khalil’s lawyers “are racing against time and are the ones in the most hurry to recuse Bitar in this period, especially after the latter returned the in-absentia arrest warrant issued against their client to the public prosecution and asked that it be enforced as soon as possible.”.