The "Gathering of Families of Martyrs, Injured, and Victims of the Beirut Port Explosion" held their monthly vigil this Thursday evening, in front of Martyrs' Gate No. (3), with participation from a number of victims' families who raised banners and photos of the martyrs. The head of the gathering, Ibrahim Hoteit, criticized the investigative judge Tarek Bitar, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Aboud, and the Public Prosecution Office of the Bar Association. He also threatened to storm the Parliament during the first legislative session to compel lawmakers to sign a law equating the wounded with military casualties, similar to martyrs.
He stated, "Four months separate us from the fourth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion massacre; forty-four months have passed since a crime that shook the entire world but failed to awaken the consciences of politicians, security officials, judges, and journalists who exploited and cowered behind the suffering and tears of the families of martyrs and victims, to engage in political warfare without any regard for the truth and justice, which alone can heal the wounds of our hearts that break with pain and sorrow every hour and moment, and grow more sorrowful with every holiday that reminds us of our unjust and aggressive losses."
He continued, "There is no doubt that we are now in a new phase following the retirement of former Attorney General Ghassan Oweidat and the appointment of the new acting Attorney General, Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar, which called for us to visit him days ago to get acquainted and explore legal avenues to advance the investigation file, as the stagnation of this file is entirely unacceptable. We informed the Attorney General of our position regarding Judge Tarek Bitar, supported by evidence and proof. We also provided him with a vital document that confirms our position beyond doubt; it is the first time we expose someone to it, and we may present it to the media at the moment of decisive action that we await. Additionally, we requested him to retrieve the accused Muhammad Ziyad Al-Awf, who is banned from traveling and was smuggled out with the intervention of the American ambassador, since he is the security officer of the port and is a treasure of information."
Hoteit sent a message to Judge Bitar, saying, "We had previously implored you to alter the ambiguous strategy you adopted, to summon everyone without any selectivity, and we demanded uniform standards in these summonses to avoid reaching the point we are at today. You promised us but failed to keep your word. We then pleaded with you through the tears of mothers and orphans to do this, or to step aside from this file for it to take its proper and correct course away from selectivity and politicization. You ignored all of that and instead took strength from the French judicial delegation, only to emerge from a prolonged slumber to issue a ruling that has no legal basis, claiming you are a divine entity whose hand cannot be restrained under any circumstances, regardless of what you do. What transpired between you and Judge Oweidat has resulted in a vertical rift in the judicial body we rely on to achieve truth and justice, which has shaken our trust in this judiciary in general and paralyzed the file on top of its stagnation."
He continued, "Judge Tarek Bitar, we, as families of martyrs, are preparing a lawsuit against you, as you have become a direct adversary to us by obstructing our access to truth and justice due to the selectivity of your summonses and the absence of uniform standards. Therefore, you cannot be both adversary and judge at the same time, no matter how much support you receive from the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Aboud, who diverts our lawsuits to chambers controlled by his judges. This is something we will confront with a similar lawsuit against him if he continues with this dubious policy. We will also take a decisive stance against the Public Prosecution Office of the Bar Association, which has politically boycotted us for over two years due to our stance towards you. Therefore, we will not allow you, in any circumstance, to return to this file, especially after we have amassed a significant amount of information and documents that confirm your lack of professionalism and even connivance against our national and humanitarian cause, an issue we will not tolerate at all."
