365 days multiplied by two, mixed with every kind of pain, anxiety, misery, oppression, sorrow, anger, longing, and boredom. People have grown weary of waiting for a provisional decision that would clarify many points stained with the pure blood of the victims of August 4th. Boredom resembles spiritual drowsiness, death before death, and deadly stagnation. So, who is responsible? Who bears the weight of the multiplied suffering of the victims' families and the detained individuals, alongside the heavy bloodshed akin to a waterfall that spilled on that August 4th? Is it the fault of the investigative judge Tarek Bitaar, the fleeing from justice, or the "system" that allows the postponement of justice under dubious legal pretexts and flimsy weak immunities? August 4, 2022, is just two days and a few hours away... Let's look into the recent updates that might define the directions and paths in the explosion that warranted the saying: this is what my state did to me. To seek the latest information about an explosion that shattered the heart of the capital, dismembered bodies, destroyed families, unleashed destruction, and left in the eyes, the eyes of the Lebanese, that evident, sad sparkle in their pupils, which conveys the meaning of our direction towards the inquiry about the investigative judge Tarek Bitaar. Does anyone know anything about him?
Seven months have passed since the "president Bitaar" suspended his work. These seven months feel like an eternity for many, during which the judge hardly left his house, according to those close to him, except for a few times not exceeding the fingers of one hand, among which were only two occasions when he went to Eidmun, where his town, family, and roots are. He feels "like a student who knows he hasn't finished his studies" and that he must focus on his studies until the examination arrives. Someone asked him: Did they succeed in excluding you? He replied: "No, no one will succeed in excluding me or forcing me to resign. They used objections to prevent me from proceeding, but they are mostly selective and political. If I had done anything wrong, the judiciary would have removed me."
Tarek Bitaar knew from the very beginning that he would face many obstacles; he belongs to the type of men who do not decide to "save their own skin" and flee whenever a "problem" arises. Therefore, it can be reiterated that he will remain, remain, remain. Our main problem is some people's attempts to monopolize the investigation, each for their own benefit, adding flashy headings and sub-titles to tamper with the investigation. This is what many do, while he continues to say: "My selection for this file specifically felt almost like a divine choice. It was presented to me twice, so I felt the responsibility, by God's will, for a great humanitarian issue, as significant as a homeland. So, I relied solely on God and proceeded, coming without any political affiliation and far removed from all state military and security apparatuses, from the first to the last, and I challenge anyone to say they have a connection with me or know me. This does not mean that all politicians and military personnel are bad, nor that all judges are honest and good people, but I, by nature, do not like to engage with them. My home is the home of justice alone."
Those who know Judge Bitaar recall every word he has said and trust him "for he possesses self-confidence and high judicial skill. Those who embody both qualities resemble an invincible army." They convey that "unlike all rumors, he has not set a specific date, a 'date', to announce the provisional decision because he has known from the start that his mission would never be easy and that the explosion that occurred is not simple at all. The Toulouse explosion, for instance, took ten years of investigation even though the French state put all its effort into it." Therefore, he knew that the investigation into the port explosion was not just a simple incident and would take a long time; he has only been practically working on it for six months, especially since it involves regional and international stories and external inquiries that require answers from abroad, in addition to countless internal obstacles.
Many blame the investigative judge for the delay in issuing the provisional decision, while he conveys to those close to him: "How can I issue a provisional decision when I am prohibited from continuing the investigation, like a doctor who must treat a patient in a hospital but has their access cut off?" Objections have poured upon him from "various angles" leading to the suspension of the investigation and preventing him from taking any actions or making any decisions. The investigation requires questioning, gathering evidence, and compiling inquiries, and they have obstructed everything. Issuing a provisional decision also requires concluding the investigation and sending it to the public prosecution, organizing a report called "foundational report" in which the public prosecution reviews the entire file and expresses its opinion. None of this has happened, yet some demand that Tarek Bitaar issue his provisional decision! What decision are they talking about?
Those who demand the judge to issue his provisional decision are directly targeting him and portraying the delay as a fault, indifferent to all other details. When he was questioned about this, he said: "Can I do that if I decide to issue it now? Can I announce the provisional decision with my hands tied and before the public prosecution issues its opinion? That opinion is essential; otherwise, the decision is considered void." The families of the detainees also urge him to issue decisions for the release of their relatives, and he responds to them, saying: "When I took over the file, I released nine detainees, and I didn’t answer anyone. Let's assume I want to release others; can I do that now with my hands tied? Of course not." Therefore, all the words we hear are simply misdirected at the investigative judge, portraying him as unjust and lazy, delaying the issuance of the accusatory provisional decision. If he were to issue any such decision now, he would lose his position and face legal accountability.
Another point conveyed through the families of the detainees is his statement to them: "The detainees are wronged." This assertion is entirely incorrect and "absurd," for when he met them, he said verbatim: "Some of your children may be good individuals or not, but they made serious mistakes in their capacities and jurisdictions." He is quoted as saying: "The judge does not say of someone, this one is unjust and this one is not, and if he does that, he will be removed from the investigation."
Many absurdities have occurred in this larger case, perhaps since Lebanon's inception. The investigative judge was aware from the outset that "no one is with him, nor does he have anyone to support him, and he will not rely on anyone except the law and the judicial institution." He complains in his gatherings of the "Higher Judicial Council, which has not issued any decisions regarding all the disputes that this file has gone through, confronting Tarek Bitaar as if he were an officer who went to war to resist the attackers, only to have his supplies cut off while in the midst of battle." Tarek Bitaar will not abandon the investigation. He has not accustomed himself to that and will not do so. He is quoted as saying: "No judge can leave an investigation he is conducting, just as no party can say at their discretion: the investigation is done. When it concludes, it is solely his decision to say: I have finished, and this is my provisional decision."
Many other matters are not addressed by those demanding the announcement of the provisional decision now, including the fact that there is no budget for the investigation, not even "an interpreter," no photocopy machines, no A4 paper, nor a clear mechanism for expenditures. Amid all this, it is as if they placed him in the heart of the battle and told him, "sort yourself out," while they throw stones at him and use labels like: politically selective and unjust. This is very difficult for a judge who relies only on truth and his conscience. All currently detained individuals in the port explosion file have faced Judge Tarek Bitaar; "the least of them lasted more than seven hours of confrontation." He worked from dawn until late at night, applying the saying: "The voice of actions is louder than the voice of words." He does not personally know any of the detainees nor harbors any hatred toward anyone. He is investigating a major case, and justice is his concern.
Bitaar is blamed on the grounds that he has excluded the military institution and judges from his investigations, while he is quoted as saying: "This is absolutely untrue; I have charged former army chief Jean Qahwaji and interrogated him, along with two from the intelligence directorate, and I demanded the prosecution of the head of general security, yet they insisted on questioning why I hadn't summoned the current army chief. Why should I do that if I have ascertained that there is nothing solid against him, and he has not received any of the communications and correspondence on the subject? Why drag names without wrongdoing? Do they want me to act according to their whims or based on the firm evidence I have?"
He has also referred three judges under Article 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including Judge Ghassan Khoury, and there was a request to summon the public prosecutor for cassation, but what happened is that it was archived. So why did the public prosecution archive the file? That is the question. Why do we not hear demands for the truth about what happened? It seems there is a clear decision to target Tarek Bitaar amid the political favoritism they are attempting to impose on the course of the investigation.
In another matter, the investigative judge mentioned regarding the Minister of Justice retrieving the decree for forming the Public Court of Cassation from the Minister of Finance: "May God help the decree and the formations, and let them review the requests; I am under the law. If my institution wishes to remove me within the legal frameworks, let it be so; otherwise, no, I will not resign."
Judge Tarek Bitaar has not recently faced direct threats again, perhaps because the threatenors are comfortable after succeeding in wasting time. Throughout the last eight months, he has only gone to the courthouse three or four times. However, he still hopes to succeed in revealing the truth in this significant case, in the largest judicial file that deserves to be pursued until the end, despite all the obstacles. He possesses Job's patience, and patience means to whisper to life: I will not bend as long as God is with me. Patience is a hardship that precedes beautiful joy and a new beginning. Yet, this does not mean he sees life as bright and flourishing; rather, he expects "a harsher confrontation ahead," but he will endure it.
He is beloved by the oppressed, who find in him a person who understands their pain, is aware of their expectations, and fights for the justice they seek. However, those who know him speak of his pain at seeing those who turn against him from his father's house. They talk about the grief he felt the day Ibrahim Hattit withdrew from the victims' families' committee, saying, "God help him." Not everyone can endure and stand firm. He "does not rule out that there could be operations after and after to incite other axes."
Tarek Bitaar does not hate anyone and does not engage in retaliatory work "nor does he harbor hatred or special affection for anyone; he maintains distance from everyone." He awaits the decision on the motions to suspend him so he can return to his work, striving for the justice that is yearned for. The stagnation in this case has greatly harmed the investigations. He will certainly need to revisit the file anew, after having progressed more than 70 percent in it. If he had been able to continue with it, he would have reached its conclusions by now. This is a significant likelihood. He is well aware that the state is strong when its judiciary, army, and security forces are strong. If the judiciary breaks, the state breaks. He is quoted as saying: "The judiciary is supposed to remain above everyone, without anyone being above accountability. The state is more important than individuals; everyone, everyone is supposed to be beneath it." A judge who makes a mistake is held accountable only by his institution; however, if accountability is selective, it is not the judge who pays the price, but rather the entire judicial institution that breaks.
There are no external interventions in the investigation concerning the port file, even though there are currently detainees who hold other nationalities. There are states that inquired only about the circumstances of the detention of individuals holding their nationalities, and that is it. In this context, one of Bitaar's acquaintances remarks: "Everyone knows that even if someone wanted to intervene, the personality of the judge would prevent them." He has never met President Michel Aoun, nor Gibran Bassil, nor Samir Geagea, nor Walid Jumblatt, nor Sleiman Frangieh, nor others.
Two of those summoned by Judge Tarek Bitaar returned to the Parliament, and when asked, he replied: "I did my duty."
No one, absolutely no one, knows what the investigative judge possesses in terms of information "as the investigation is confidential." It is true that some leaks occur, or may occur, in all countries of the world, especially that some information intersects with more than one agency, but what he has gathered remains with him. The file is large, very large, even more than all expectations. Therefore, he is quoted as saying: "More difficult matters will occur in the investigation, and my reliance will only be on God alone." He sometimes asks himself about the price he may pay and answers himself: "It could be steep, but I am ready for it."
