On Tuesday, the Lebanese Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, asked the judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion crime, Judge Tariq Bitar, to prepare a report on what is being circulated about his “being threatened” by the “Hezbollah” group.
This came in a statement published by the Public Prosecution Office on its Twitter account.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanese journalist Edmond Sassin wrote on his Twitter account that “Hezbollah” and through Wafiq Safa (an official in the party) sent a threatening message to Al-Bitar.
The journalist, who works as a reporter for the private Lebanese channel LBC, stated that the message is: “You arrived with us from the mouth, we will walk with you to the end on the legal path, and if the situation does not work, we will subdue you (uproot you).”
And he added, “Bitar’s response came as follows: May he ransom, Beamon, how was the fly by him (indicating that he is indifferent to the threat).”
Commenting on what Sassin said, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said: “He has no knowledge of anything.”
In response to a question from journalists during his visit to the headquarters of the Internal Security Forces in Beirut, he added: “The security forces are doing their duty and Judge (Bitar) is doing his duty.”
On August 4, 2020, an explosion occurred in the port, killing 217 people and wounding about 7,000 others, as well as causing massive material damage to residential and commercial buildings.
Last August, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah criticized Judge Bitar’s performance, saying that “the judicial investigation into the port explosion case is politicized and subject to discretion.”
On July 2, Judge Bitar had sued 4 Lebanese officials, including former Prime Minister Hassan Diab and 6 senior security officers.
