The exterior courtyard of the Court Palace in Beirut witnessed a gathering of dozens of families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, with the participation of several MPs, under the banner "Stopping the Investigation is Also a Crime." This coincided with a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council to demand the appointment of judges for the Court of Cassation.
Things quickly escalated as protesters breached the gates of the Court Palace and many entered the inner courtyard, leading to a confrontation with security forces, which resulted in injuries among the families amid a state of intense anger.
The protesters accused several judges of "having political agendas and preventing the issuance of decisions for the appointment of the Cassation judges."
After negotiations with the security forces led by MP Melhem Khalaf, some families began to leave the inner courtyard of the Court Palace, vowing to continue their actions and claiming that their case will not die, urging officials and judges to act according to their consciences. They announced that they were "waiting for a decision regarding the Supreme Judicial Council meeting to determine their next move."
Spokesperson for the families, William Noun, expressed that they are "tired of words and waiting for a solution to their case and can no longer tolerate peaceful protests," revealing that "a delegation from them will meet with the President of the Supreme Judicial Council to find a decisive solution, and there will be a follow-up meeting scheduled for the families and activists from civil society sympathetic to their case."
Several protesters expressed their regrets for being "forced to stand against the security forces," emphasizing that a solution exists through a meeting of the Court of Cassation to annul the decision halting the investigation by Judge Tarek Bitar.
