President Michel Aoun’s media office Saturday hit back at media reports suggesting that he was interfering in judicial investigations into the Beirut Port blast.
“The president did not interfere with the investigations undertaken by the judge into the explosion in any form and has more than once called for speedy investigations to uncover the details of the crime and determine who was responsible,” the statement said.
CONTD: July 28, 2020, Secretary-General of Higher Defense Council informed the security &military advisor that he is dealing with the issue, and that he sent a letter to Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, which it received August 3, 2020 #Lebanon presidency statement https://t.co/wi2T1R77D1
— Zeina Khodr (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) December 12, 2020
According to Aoun’s media office, the investigation into the blast was not discussed during the Higher Defense Council session on Dec. 8, and therefore all reports that allege the president interfered with the investigation are fabrications.
“The discussion was limited to the functions of the courts and the necessity to activate them and other issues pertinent to the council,” the statement said.
The public holds leaders, ministers and officials in power between late 2013 until the explosion on Aug. 4 responsible for the devastating explosion that claimed the lives of nearly 200 people, injured thousands and damaged half of Beirut.
Officials have asserted that what led to the horrific explosion was the ignition of more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored at the port in the heart of the capital.
The highly explosive material was seized off a Russian-owned ship originally headed to Mozambique, until it docked at the Beirut Port for “technical reasons” in late 2013.
“The first time the president was informed about the ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material, in hangar 12 of the port was through the General Directorate of the State Security on July 21, 2020,” the statement said.
According to the statement, Aoun, upon viewing the report, asked his security and military adviser to follow up on it with the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council, which he did.
The secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council informed Aoun’s adviser on July 28 that he was dealing with the issue and had sent a letter to the Public Works Ministry about it, which the ministry received on Aug. 3, one day before the blast.
Lead investigator in the blast Judge Fadi Sawwan Thursday charged caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers with negligence in connection to the blast, in what marks the first charges targeting high-ranking officials four months after the explosion.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
