by AFP — The spokesman for relatives of those killed in last year’s Beirut port blast quit on Saturday, following fears he had been intimidated into urging the dismissal of the lead investigator in the case. Shiite movement Hezbollah and allies have accused judge Tarek Bitar of political bias in his probe into the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 210 people. Tensions came to a boil Thursday when seven people were killed in violence following a rally organised by Hezbollah and its ally Amal demanding Bitar’s dismissal. The shootout in central Beirut kept many residents trapped indoors for hours, reviving memories of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

In a complete U-turn from his previous support for the investigator, Ibrahim Hoteit, a spokesman for the families of the victims, called in a video circulated Friday night for the judge to step down. Many social media users worried that Hoteit, whose brother was killed in the port explosion, had been threatened. In the video, he is seen glancing off camera as he speaks, in what some charge could be a sign of him speaking under duress. But Hoteit told AFP he had spoken only for himself and denied having recorded the video under any pressure. “The only pressure I came under were the events of Thursday and the fear of sliding into civil war,” he said. “I therefore decided to step down as spokesman” for the families. ‘180-degree turn’

Other victims’ relatives, who still support Bitar, said in a statement: “This position… does not represent us at all.” William Noun, whose firefighter brother died in the blast, told AFP that he remained firm in his support and that Hoteit “was without doubt pressured”. Lina Khatib, a senior analyst at the Chatham House think-tank, said the video was “alarming because it is a sudden 180-degree turn from earlier statements… in support of the port probe”. “In the video he appears to be under duress,” she said, and the wording of the statement was unlike his usual language. “All this suggests that Hoteit issued the video statement because he felt pressured to do so.” Top politicians subpoenaed in the blast investigation have launched various legal challenges against Bitar. But the latest court rulings have allowed him to resume the probe, which has been suspended multiple times. Bitar’s predecessor, Fadi Sawan, was removed by a court in February. Topics: Beirut , port blast , Tarek B

 

 

BEIRUT (AP) — The families of the victims of Beirut’s massive port blast last year reaffirmed Saturday their support for the judge leading the investigation into the explosion, despite increasing calls for his ouster by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies. The families’ statement was apparently meant to counter a video released by their spokesman on social media late Friday in which he calls on Judge Tarek Bitar to step down. The spokesman, Ibrahim Hoteit, could not be reached for comment. It was unclear if he had made the video under pressure. The families said he had not coordinated with them, which he always does before making public announcement, and that the video took them by surprise. Since the August 2020 explosion at Beirut’s port that killed at least 215 people, the families of the victims have taken on an increasingly prominent role in Lebanon with their demands for accountability. After the blast, it emerged from documents that several senior politicians and security chiefs knew of the hundreds of tons of highly combustible ammonium nitrate stored haphazardly in a port warehouse and did nothing about it.

On Thursday, gunbattles erupted on Beirut streets between two camps opposing and supporting the judge in the probe, killed seven and wounded dozens. The violence broke out at a protest organized by Hezbollah and Amal groups, which have called for Bitar’s removal. The two groups have suggested the investigation is heading toward holding them responsible for the blast. “We, the families of more than 200 martyrs and thousands of injured and hundreds of thousands of people who suffered damages, have put our faith in investigative judge Tarek Bitar,” the families said. In the video, the spokesman demands the judge step down because “the situation has turned into shedding of the blood of innocent people” — a reference to Thursday’s violence. The spokesman’s younger brother was killed in the port explosion. Judge Bitar has charged and issued arrests warrant for Lebanon’s former ministers of finance and public works, both close allies of Hezbollah. Bitar has charged the two, along with another former minister and prime minister, with intentional killing and negligence that led to the blast. (Copyright (c) 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)