Australia calls for investigation into Beirut blast after stalled probe
1 year, 10 months ago

Australia calls for investigation into Beirut blast after stalled probe

ABC  

Australia has used an international human rights forum in Geneva to call for a swift, independent, and impartial investigation into the devastating 2020 Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people, including one Australian. Key points: The blast happened nearly three years ago and injured and displaced thousands Victims' families have accused Lebanese authorities of obstructing the investigation Advocates say the investigation needs to happen without 'political meddling' In an address to the United Nation's Human Rights Council, Australia's Ambassador to Geneva, Amanda Gorely, delivered a statement on behalf of 38 countries concerned about the stalled probe. Push for 'serious' investigation Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would "keep pushing internationally for those responsible to be held to account" and called on Lebanese authorities to "remove all obstacles" to the probe. Ms Gorely's statement followed a speech by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who said a "serious investigation" into the blast was urgently needed "without political interference or further delay". "The Lebanese authorities must urgently allow the domestic inquiry to proceed without any political meddling, and ensure the investigation remains impartial at all times," she said.

International Investigation Rights Victims Explosion Lebanon Beirut Lebanese Turk Lebanese Authorities  victims  investigation  calls  australia  human  families  political  rights  lebanese  stalled  explosion  international  blast  authorities  beirut  probe

History of this topic

Four years after the Beirut port blast, many decry stalled justice as regional tensions spike
5 months ago

Four years after the Beirut port blast, many decry stalled justice as regional tensions spike

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “There is a crime, and there are accused, but …

Lebanon marks four years since Beirut port blast amid regional tensions
5 months ago

Lebanon marks four years since Beirut port blast amid regional tensions

Al Jazeera  

No one has been held accountable for the catastrophic explosion that killed more than 220 people. Protesters are to converge on the Beirut port as Lebanon marks four years since a catastrophic explosion there killed more than 220 people. But in January last year, he resumed investigations, charging eight new suspects, including high-level security officials and Lebanon’s top prosecutor, who …

Justice for the Beirut blast can help avert Lebanon’s collapse
1 year, 5 months ago

Justice for the Beirut blast can help avert Lebanon’s collapse

Al Jazeera  

Holding the Lebanese political elite to account can be the first step towards the country’s recovery. Understanding this reality, on this third anniversary of the blast, more than 350 individuals and organisations in and outside Lebanon, including a large number of victims, issued an open letter in support of a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council that would authorise …

3 years after Beirut port blast, intrigue foils an investigation and even the death toll is disputed
1 year, 5 months ago

3 years after Beirut port blast, intrigue foils an investigation and even the death toll is disputed

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — Three years after Beirut’s massive port explosion, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions. Lebanese and international organizations, survivors and families of victims sent an appeal to the U.N. Rights Council, saying that on the third …

Lebanon marks three years since catastrophic Beirut port blast
1 year, 5 months ago

Lebanon marks three years since catastrophic Beirut port blast

Al Jazeera  

As the country mourns more than 220 blast victims, rights groups decry lack of accountability among political leaders. Three years after hundreds of people were killed in the port blast that devastated Beirut, religious leaders and rights groups decried the lack of accountability among political leaders who stymied the official investigation. Lebanese and international organizations, survivors and families of victims …

More than two years after the Beirut blast, victims are waiting for justice. Australia can do more
1 year, 10 months ago

More than two years after the Beirut blast, victims are waiting for justice. Australia can do more

ABC  

This month marked two-and-a-half years since the devastating explosion at the Beirut Port. Loading Australia can stand up In March 2021, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, then in opposition, issued a statement calling on the Morrison government to work with Lebanon and the international community to deliver an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the Beirut …

Amid standoff in Beirut blast probe, US national released
1 year, 11 months ago

Amid standoff in Beirut blast probe, US national released

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — Scores of protesters Thursday scuffled with riot police in Beirut as they tried to break into the offices of Lebanon’s judiciary, after the country’s chief prosecutor filed charges against the judge investigating the massive 2020 port explosion and ordered the release of all suspects in the case. U.S. authorities considered Auf as “unlawfully detained” without trial for two …

Anger soars in Beirut amid standoff over port blast probe
1 year, 11 months ago

Anger soars in Beirut amid standoff over port blast probe

The Independent  

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Families of Beirut port blast outraged by infighting over inquiry
1 year, 11 months ago

Families of Beirut port blast outraged by infighting over inquiry

Al Jazeera  

Dozens protest in Lebanese capital against the public prosecutor’s attempt to stop a judge from continuing his investigation. Family members of the victims of the 2020 Beirut port blast have tried to break into the Justice Palace in the Lebanese capital as they protested against the lack of progress in the investigation over the explosion. “They have been demanding justice …

Top prosecutor orders release of Beirut port blast detainees
1 year, 11 months ago

Top prosecutor orders release of Beirut port blast detainees

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s top prosecutor Wednesday ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation into the deadly 2020 port blast in Beirut and filed charges against the judge leading the probe, he told The Associated Press. The decision came after Bitar on Monday resumed the investigation into the devastating port blast, following a 13-month halt over legal challenges …

Lebanese judge probing 2020 Beirut port blast resumes inquiry
1 year, 11 months ago

Lebanese judge probing 2020 Beirut port blast resumes inquiry

Al Jazeera  

The probe into the 2020 explosion had been derailed for months by legal challenges as well resistance from factions. The Lebanese judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion has unexpectedly resumed his inquiry, after a 13-month suspension due to political resistance to his attempts to interrogate top officials. Bitar also ordered the release of five people detained since shortly …

Lebanon seeks to name second investigator to stalled Beirut blast probe, outraging victims
2 years, 4 months ago

Lebanon seeks to name second investigator to stalled Beirut blast probe, outraging victims

ABC  

Lebanon's judiciary is seeking to appoint a second judge to a stalled inquiry into the Beirut port explosion, sources inside the judiciary say, highlighting deep divisions in the country's political class over efforts to investigate the tragedy that killed more than 200 people, including a two-year-old Australian boy. Key points: More than 200 people died in a massive explosion at …

Two years after Beirut blast, lawsuits raise hopes for justice
2 years, 5 months ago

Two years after Beirut blast, lawsuits raise hopes for justice

Al Jazeera  

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 …

‘Listen to our pleas’: Beirut blast victims demand global support
2 years, 10 months ago

‘Listen to our pleas’: Beirut blast victims demand global support

Al Jazeera  

Relatives call for an international inquiry to help push forward a floundering local investigation into the deadly explosion in Lebanon. “International support would work in parallel with the local investigation.” ‘Kill the investigation’ The explosion on August 4, 2020, rocked the Lebanese capital after a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, stored unsafely at the port for years, detonated. Calls for …

Lebanese urge end to ‘campaign’ against Beirut blast judge
3 years, 2 months ago

Lebanese urge end to ‘campaign’ against Beirut blast judge

Al Jazeera  

Rights groups, lawyers, and journalists call for ‘honest’ reporting on the deadly Beirut Port explosion investigation in the media. Beirut, Lebanon – Rights groups, lawyers, and journalists condemned authorities for obstructing the Beirut blast probe by “undermining facts”, accusing officials on Tuesday of leaking misinformation and intervening in the justice system. “The political rulers are using the media as a …

Beirut blast probe suspended again as judge issues arrest warrant
3 years, 2 months ago

Beirut blast probe suspended again as judge issues arrest warrant

Al Jazeera  

Lawyers for former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter register new legal complaint against Judge Tarek Bitar. Beirut, Lebanon – The probe into the Beirut port explosion has been suspended after two former ministers facing charges lodged a new legal complaint against the lead investigator. The development came moments after Judge Tarek Bitar issued an arrest warrant for ex-finance …

Court allows Judge Bitar to resume Beirut blast investigation
3 years, 3 months ago

Court allows Judge Bitar to resume Beirut blast investigation

Al Jazeera  

An appeals court has rejected a request by former ministers to remove Judge Bitar from the investigation. Beirut, Lebanon – The Beirut Appeals Court has rejected requests to remove Judge Tarek Bitar from the Beirut Port blast investigation, which were presented by former ministers charged in the investigation. The investigation into the port blast that rocked the Lebanese capital was …

Probe of Lebanon port blast suspended amid legal challenges
3 years, 3 months ago

Probe of Lebanon port blast suspended amid legal challenges

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — The lead judge investigating last year’s massive blast in Beirut’s port had to suspend his work in the case Monday after a former Cabinet minister demanded his dismissal. The development comes amid a growing campaign by Lebanon’s political class against Bitar, who took over the job in February after his predecessor, Fadi Sawwan, was removed following similar legal …

Hezbollah threatened top judge probing Beirut port blast, source says
3 years, 3 months ago

Hezbollah threatened top judge probing Beirut port blast, source says

CNN  

Beirut, Lebanon CNN — Hezbollah has threatened to “usurp” the Lebanese judge investigating the Beirut port blast in a verbal message to him in recent days, a source familiar with the conversation has told CNN. ​ High-ranking Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa ​issued the threat to Judge Tarek Bitar through an ​unnamed intermediary, who relayed the contents of the message, according …

Survivors, NGOs call for international probe into Beirut blast
3 years, 3 months ago

Survivors, NGOs call for international probe into Beirut blast

Al Jazeera  

Calls for a UN-led international investigation are multiplying as a Lebanese inquiry fails to deliver accountability. Human rights groups, survivors and relatives of victims of the Lebanon port blast are urging the United Nations to back an international, independent and impartial probe, bypassing a local probe that has yet to yield significant arrests or even identify a culprit. A total …

Grieving and angry, Lebanese mark year since horrific blast
3 years, 5 months ago

Grieving and angry, Lebanese mark year since horrific blast

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — United in grief and anger, families of the victims and several thousand Lebanese on Wednesday marked one year since the horrific explosion at Beirut’s port with a moment of silence and prayers at the foot of the silos that was shredded by the blast on that fateful day. Several thousand people gathered at various locations in Beirut on …

Lebanese MPs accused of Beirut blast ‘cover up’ over trial move
3 years, 5 months ago

Lebanese MPs accused of Beirut blast ‘cover up’ over trial move

Al Jazeera  

Critics say parliamentary move for special judicial body to try officials over Beirut port blast shields them from prosecution. Beirut, Lebanon – Dozens of Lebanese MPs have pledged support for a parliamentary motion allowing a special judicial body to investigate and try caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and four ex-ministers over last year’s Beirut Port explosion, but legal activists and …

‘Not like every time:' Beirut blast victims want the truth
3 years, 11 months ago

‘Not like every time:' Beirut blast victims want the truth

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — Days after a massive explosion ripped through Beirut’s port and disfigured the Lebanese capital, family members of some of the 211 people killed in the blast demanded an international probe. “This should not be like every time.” In a joint statement, France and the United States said Thursday they expect “rapid results” and that the “Lebanese justice system …

'Not like every time:' Beirut blast victims want the truth Families People Port One probe
3 years, 11 months ago

'Not like every time:' Beirut blast victims want the truth Families People Port One probe

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Days after a massive explosion …

Lebanon prosecutor pauses port probe amid legal challenges
4 years ago

Lebanon prosecutor pauses port probe amid legal challenges

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Lebanon’s prosecutor investigating last summer’s …

Beirut Blast Probe Suspended as 2 Ministers Charged with Negligence Request to be Removed
4 years ago

Beirut Blast Probe Suspended as 2 Ministers Charged with Negligence Request to be Removed

News 18  

The Lebanese judge investigating the huge explosion that rocked Beirut in August has suspended the probe after two ministers he charged requested he be removed, judicial sources said Thursday. Fadi Sawan on December 10 issued charges against caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers over the August 4 blast that disfigured Lebanon’s capital. Among them are former finance …

Intelligence probe into Beirut explosion lays out liabilities
4 years, 1 month ago

Intelligence probe into Beirut explosion lays out liabilities

Al Jazeera  

A 350-page report on the causes of August 4 disaster has laid out responsibilities of various officials and security agencies. Beirut, Lebanon – A detailed report by Lebanon’s elite Information Branch intelligence agency has found a host of state officials and security agencies responsible for a massive explosion in Beirut’s port in August that killed some 200 people. The Information …

French probe into Beirut blast remains ‘inconclusive’
4 years, 2 months ago

French probe into Beirut blast remains ‘inconclusive’

Al Jazeera  

Source tells Al Jazeera French investigators unable to yet determine if Beirut port blast was intentional or due to negligence. Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s lead investigator in the August 4 Beirut explosion that killed more than 200 people has been informed that French experts have so far reached no conclusion on the cause of the blast, a senior Lebanese judicial …

No top officials to be indicted over Beirut blast: Sources
4 years, 2 months ago

No top officials to be indicted over Beirut blast: Sources

Al Jazeera  

Lead investigator in Lebanon blast that killed 200 has limited probe to low- and mid-level officials, judicial sources say. A second judicial source said the charges include “willful negligence that led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians and injury of others”, and “causing massive destruction to public and private property”. Where is the public interest in this?” French …

Judge probing Beirut blast receives FBI’s investigation
4 years, 2 months ago

Judge probing Beirut blast receives FBI’s investigation

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — The judge investigating a massive blast in Beirut that killed and wounded many people two months ago has received a report from the FBI about their own probe of the blast, state-run National News Agency reported Tuesday. The news agency said Judge Fadi Sawwan received the FBI report on Monday, adding that he is still waiting for similar …

FBI to join Beirut blast probe: US envoy
4 years, 4 months ago

FBI to join Beirut blast probe: US envoy

Live Mint  

The FBI will join investigators probing the cause of the huge port blast that destroyed swathes of Beirut, the top career diplomat at the US State Department said Thursday. "The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international investigators, at the invitation of the Lebanese, in order to help answer questions that I know everyone has about the circumstances that led …

'Independent Investigation': World Donors Demand Change before Money to Rebuild Beirut
4 years, 5 months ago

'Independent Investigation': World Donors Demand Change before Money to Rebuild Beirut

News 18  

The money to rebuild Lebanon's shattered capital will come only with the same change demanded by mourning protesters in Beirut, said world leaders and international organizations on Sunday after a global aid teleconference. Over 30 conference participants offered emergency humanitarian aid and pledged help for a "credible and independent" investigation into last week's Beirut explosion, another key demand of the …

Hariri verdict, a Russian-owned ship and Hezbollah-Israel animosity: Conspiracy theories abound over Beirut blast – Firstpost
4 years, 5 months ago

Hariri verdict, a Russian-owned ship and Hezbollah-Israel animosity: Conspiracy theories abound over Beirut blast – Firstpost

Firstpost  

In the Lebanese cesspool of corruption and mismanagement, the actual reason for the Beirut blast or the identity of men behind it may never be known The Beirut blast earlier this week has triggered a second chain reaction of devastation, conspiracy theories and outpouring of Lebanese anger on streets. The explosion is no doubt an intricate and deadly concoction of …

Beirut Blast: Officials investigating eplosion amid public rage
4 years, 5 months ago

Beirut Blast: Officials investigating eplosion amid public rage

India TV News  

Investigators probing the deadly blast that ripped across Beirut focused Wednesday on possible negligence in the storage of tons of a highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the government ordered the house arrest of several port officials. International aid flights began to arrive as Lebanon’s leaders struggled to deal with the widespread damage and shocking aftermath of Tuesday’s …

Lebanon probes blast amid rising anger, calls for change
4 years, 5 months ago

Lebanon probes blast amid rising anger, calls for change

India Today  

Lebanese officials targeted in the investigation of the massive blast that tore through Beirut sought to shift blame for the presence of explosives at the city's port, and the visiting French president warned Thursday that without serious reforms the country would "continue to sink." The blast Tuesday, which appeared to have been caused by an accidental fire that ignited a …

Beirut explosion leaves Australian embassy 'considerably' damaged, one Australian dead
4 years, 5 months ago

Beirut explosion leaves Australian embassy 'considerably' damaged, one Australian dead

ABC  

At least one Australian was killed and the Australian embassy in Beirut "considerably" damaged by a huge blast in Lebanon's capital that left 78 people dead and thousands more injured. Key points: The Australian embassy was less than 2 kilometres from the blast The total death toll was expected to rise as emergency workers search through rubble Australian citizens can …

Scott Morrison confirms at least one Australian is dead in horror blast in Beirut
4 years, 5 months ago

Scott Morrison confirms at least one Australian is dead in horror blast in Beirut

Daily Mail  

At least one Australian has been killed in the horror blast in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The massive explosion has killed at least 73 people, including one Australian, Scott Morrison confirmed on Wednesday It obliterated the immediate surrounding buildings, where firefighters were still battling flames this evening, and even inflicted damage on districts miles away from the blast site …

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