Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister, Hassan Diab and three former ministers have been charged over the huge explosion at a Beirut port that killed almost 200 people and injured 6,500 others.
The country’s official news agency reported charges have been filed against the Prime Minister and former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, as well as former Ministers of Public Works, Ghazi Zeiter and Youssef Fenianos.
Mr Diab said in a statement his conscience was clear over the August 4 explosion in Lebanon’s capital, after Judge Fadi Sawwan charged the four politicians with negligence leading to deaths.
The PM, added that he was confident that his hands were clean also stating that he had dealt transparently with the file of the blast, and as such was surprised to be targeted in the probe.
Mr Diab, a relative political newcomer, had earlier admitted he initially learned of the presence of the explosive material on June 3, 2020.
He, however, explained that he waited until a report by the State Security agency on the matter was handed to him in late July before he took any action, which he said, entailed informing relevant ministries to look into the matter.
Preliminary investigations confirmed top security officials and politicians knew the large stockpile of explosive material that ignited the explosion was stored at the port, but did nothing about it.
It emerged that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate – used as a fertiliser and in explosives – was left in a warehouse for six years.
The four politicians are the most senior people to be indicted so far in the secret investigation.
The news comes as a result of growing pressure and frustration that has been building up over the slow investigation, a lack of answers and the fact that no senior officials had been prosecuted.
In the aftermath of the disaster, protests erupted in the city as residents blamed the country’s leaders for what happened.
The blast levelled the port, destroyed large parts of the city and forced around 300,000 people out of their homes.
Mr Diab, a former university professor, resigned few days after the blast, along with the country’s entire government.
Mr Zeiter was Transport and Public Works Minister in 2014, while Mr Fenianos had the role from 2016, until early 2020. The ministry is in charge of overseeing the port, and it’s Director of Land and Maritime Transport, Abdel-Hafiz al-Kaissy, has been charged in the blast case.
Both the former Finance Minister, Mr Khalil and Mr Fenianos were sanctioned by the US in September – the first two officials outside of the Hezbollah group to face such measures.
One month after the August explosion, a huge fire broke out at Beirut’s port, frightening residents who were traumatised by the previous blast.
