Sarraf to testify in France after his port case 'information' ignored in Lebanon

Former defense minister Yacoub Sarraf announced Wednesday that he will testify before the French judiciary on August 3 in the Beirut port blast case, after Lebanese judges refused to hear his testimony in Lebanon.

“Expect a big surprise during the coming weeks!!!” Sarraf had tweeted on July 5.

Sarraf served as defense minister from 2016 to 2018.

He had repeatedly urged the case’s former investigative judge, Fadi Sawwan, to hear what he had to say.

“The same matter was repeated with Judge Tarek Bitar, who met with Sarraf and received from him a file containing information and documents related to the explosion, but he also did not listen to him as a witness, before it turned out later that he had shelved the file,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“On January 12, Sarraf sent a memo to Justice Minister Henri Khoury and on January 17 he sent another memo to State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat, reiterating that he has information that might benefit the investigation into the port crime,” the daily said.

Sarraf also “sent a memo to French Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo on March 6, 2023, putting himself at the disposal of the French investigation,” al-Akhbar added.

“He sent another memo to French investigative judges Marie-Christine Idiart and Nicolas Aubertin on June 6, 2023, asking them to hear him as a witness in the investigation that they are conducting into the port blast, with Aubertin answering his request on July 3 and inviting him to appear in French court on August 3 to deliver his testimony,” the daily said.