There was an interaction in Lebanon with the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council to appoint an alternate judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion case, in addition to the original judicial investigator, Judge Tariq Al-Bitar, which opened the door to a judicial dispute that threatened the continuation of the investigation, which faced political pressure, and former ministers refused to appear before The investigator, while increasing legal jurisprudence on the correctness of the decision of the Judicial Council.
The decision to appoint the new judge is expected to be issued early next week, while Judge Al-Bitar insists on the “illegality of the decision”, and considers it “non-existent.” Sources close to Al-Bitar revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that he is “working on developing a legal study that would enable him to resume investigations, regardless of the lawsuits filed against him.” The sources said that he will “adopt a jurisprudence in line with the law and allow the resumption of his work, and will exhaust all means of legal confrontation, and if the paths are closed to him, then he may consider the option of resignation.”
In an attempt to reduce the repercussions of what happened, a source in the Supreme Judicial Council said, “The council’s president and all members are convinced that Judge Al-Bitar is distinguished by morality and adheres to legal rules, and he knows that the decision is not directed against him, but was taken to serve a humanitarian situation related to the detainees, and not to them.” political dimensions at all.
Political parties, led by the Free Patriotic Movement, celebrated the decision of the Judicial Council, which allows the release of a number of detainees in the port file, led by the former Director General of Customs Badri Daher (who is affiliated with the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun).
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