Hezbollah threatens Beirut Port blast investigator - report
A Hezbollah official threatened the judge leading the investigation, saying Hezbollah would remove the judge by force from the case.
By TZVI JOFFRE
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa reportedly threatened Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion which devastated Lebanon's capital in August 2020, this week, saying the movement would remove Bitar from his position by force if the judge displeases them. "We have had enough of you. We will go to the end of the legal path, and if that does not work, we will remove you by force," said Safa to Bitar, according to Edmond Sassine, a journalist with the Lebanese LBCI news.
LBCI and the Lebanese Annahar news both reported based on judicial sources on Wednesday that Bitar had confirmed the reports about the alleged threat by Hezbollah. Lebanese Interior Ministry Bassam Mawlawi denied to the Lebanese Al-Akhbar news that he was aware of the reported threat to Bitar, saying that "security forces are doing their duty and the judge is doing his duty." Families of the victims of the Beirut explosion expressed outrage at the report, telling Lebanese media that they would be guards under Bitar's house and stressing that the judiciary must be respected.
more......... https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/hezbollah-threatens-beirut-port-blast-investigator-report-680081
A Hezbollah official threatened the judge leading the investigation, saying Hezbollah would remove the judge by force from the case.
By TZVI JOFFRE
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa reportedly threatened Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion which devastated Lebanon's capital in August 2020, this week, saying the movement would remove Bitar from his position by force if the judge displeases them. "We have had enough of you. We will go to the end of the legal path, and if that does not work, we will remove you by force," said Safa to Bitar, according to Edmond Sassine, a journalist with the Lebanese LBCI news.
LBCI and the Lebanese Annahar news both reported based on judicial sources on Wednesday that Bitar had confirmed the reports about the alleged threat by Hezbollah. Lebanese Interior Ministry Bassam Mawlawi denied to the Lebanese Al-Akhbar news that he was aware of the reported threat to Bitar, saying that "security forces are doing their duty and the judge is doing his duty." Families of the victims of the Beirut explosion expressed outrage at the report, telling Lebanese media that they would be guards under Bitar's house and stressing that the judiciary must be respected.
more......... https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/hezbollah-threatens-beirut-port-blast-investigator-report-680081
