Amnesty International accused the Lebanese authorities on Monday (August 2nd) of shamelessly blocking the investigation into the deadly and devastating explosion at the port of Beirut a year ago.
Since the tragedy of August 4, 2020, which left more than 200 dead and devastated entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital, no official has yet been brought to justice.
Read also: In Lebanon, an endless political crisis
The gigantic explosion was caused by hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored without precaution, according to the authorities themselves, in a dilapidated warehouse at the port.
How did this explosive material get to the port of Beirut?
What started the fire that caused the explosion?
Why was ammonium nitrate forgotten in the warehouse despite the dangers?
All these questions remain unanswered today.
"
The Lebanese authorities have spent the past year shamelessly hampering the victims
'
quest for truth and justice
," lamented the NGO Amnesty International in a statement.
Compensation for blocked victims
This too much drama in a country in the midst of “
deliberate
”
economic depression
, according to the World Bank, is widely viewed by the families of the victims and the public as the result of decades of bad governance and ruling class corruption.
After categorically rejecting an international investigation, the Lebanese authorities relieved of his functions the first judge in charge of investigating the case, after the indictment of senior officials.
His replacement also faces obstructions, including Parliament's refusal to lift the immunity of some of its members suspected of involvement in the explosion.
Read also: Lebanon: a new judge appointed for the investigation into the explosion in Beirut
"
Considering the scale of this tragedy, it is astonishing to see how far the Lebanese authorities are ready to go to evade
justice", deplored the deputy regional director of Amnesty, Lynn Maalouf. The absence of an indictment in this case, a year later, blocks compensation for victims by insurance companies, and discredits a ruling class already hated by the street. On Wednesday, marches are planned in Beirut by relatives of the victims and activists, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the tragedy, to demand the lifting of parliamentary immunity and that justice be done.