Two years after Beirut blast, lawsuits raise hopes for justice

Legal cases abroad are giving survivors hope for justice amid a stalled Lebanese investigation, but they say an independent UN probe remains essential. Beirut, Lebanon – It has been a long two years for the families of the more than 200 people who were killed in the Beirut port explosion, but as the Lebanese investigation continues to be obstructed, the fight for justice could be picking up steam amid new legal cases launched from abroad. “There’s no money or anything that will make any of this better, but if damages are awarded the idea is that a victims’ fund would be set up, so it wouldn’t just benefit the plaintiffs in the case,” she said, adding it could help families focus on healing rather than day-to-day survival amid Lebanon’s unprecedented economic crisis. We are confident that we will prevail in this matter.” Another major international lawsuit filed by the Beirut Bar Association earlier in the year is continuing in the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice regarding Savaro Ltd, the company suspected of importing the ammonium nitrate from the Georgian chemicals factory Rustavi Azot. “It’s shameful the member states haven’t yet placed this as a resolution, it’s clearly a human rights issue, the very basis of human rights is the right to life,” Mulvey said.