Injuries as families of port victims storm Justice Palace

Families of Beirut port blast victims 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 relatives managed to storm the outer gate of the Justice Palace and some of them were injured in clashes with security forces.

The sit-in inside and outside the Palace is still ongoing.

Speaking to al-Jadeed TV, a spokesman for the families, William Noon, said: “We are not against the Higher Judicial Council but rather against some judges in in it.”

“All that we want is for the investigation to resume,” Noon added.

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.

Bitar has been the subject of harsh criticism by Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Bitar's investigation a "big mistake" and said it was biased. He also asked authorities to remove Bitar.

Bitar is the second judge to take the case. The first judge, Fadi Sawwan, was forced out after complaints of bias by two ministers.

Bitar charged four former senior government officials with intentional killing and negligence that led to the deaths of dozens of people. He also charged several top security officials in the case.