Tarek Bitar, this “totally independent” judge, who arouses the hope of the families of victims

Two and a half years after the explosion in the port of Beirut which killed at least 218 people, the investigation is at a standstill and the country is sinking into an economic, political and judicial crisis. An international meeting is being held on Monday February 6 in Paris to strengthen the aid of the international community for the formation of a new government. On the judicial level, a man tries to move things forward: Tarek Bitar, the investigating judge in charge of the investigation, deemed incorruptible.

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To understand the hope that this magistrate arouses, you have to go to the edge of a rutted highway, facing the hangar stuffed with ammonium nitrate which exploded on August 4, 2020. Each month, the families of victims light candles in memory of their deceased loved ones. All support Judge Bitar, like Georges, who lost his 22-year-old daughter in the explosion. ” My daughter had just entered the hospital to start her labor. The explosion took place at 6:07 p.m., it was 6 p.m., he says. I arrived 20 minutes later. She died in front of me. These images, I will never forget them. It’s been two and a half years and still no justice.”

“I’m very angry, but I won’t give up. And then Tarek Bitar is fighting alongside us for the truth to come out. He is the hope that one day we will get justice.”

George, father of a victim of the Beirut port explosion

at franceinfo

Judge Bitar is, for the families of victims, the one who did not hesitate to prosecute for “homicides” against politicians and senior officers, in business at the time of the tragedy. Among them, former Prime Minister Hassan Diab or the Attorney General of Lebanon. Unheard of in the country.

A “totally independent” judge

At 48, Tarek Bitar is a discreet man with extremely rare speech. It is subject to political pressure and threats and benefits from permanent military protection. Even his fellow magistrates refuse to speak about him, the climate is much too tense. A judge nevertheless ended up agreeing to speak to us, on the condition of remaining anonymous: “He is an exceptional judge, simply because he is investigating an extremely dangerous case. It is the most important and most dangerous case in the history of Lebanese justice. It is a completely independent judge. He faces all the politicians. He is fearless. He goes all the way. He feels, thoroughly, responsible for telling the truth, something very rare in Lebanon in the big political issues. For decades, impunity has reigned in the country.”

“Politicians appoint a large part of the judges, who in turn protect their interests. And suddenly, as soon as an investigation attacks leading figures, it is almost systematically buried.”

A Lebanese judge

at franceinfo

According to Wissam Lahlam, jurist and member of Legal Agenda, a Lebanese NGO fighting for the independence of justice, Judge Bittar represents an unprecedented threat to the Lebanese political class: “Political leaders in Lebanon come from the Lebanese civil war. Some of them committed war crimes. They were not held accountable during the civil war. They were not held accountable during the years 90. There is total impunity, he says. So after the explosion of the port of Beirut, they are shocked, because it is the first time that a judge tries to say: no, you are responsible. We must submit to the law and to justice. Because documents attest that the politicians and senior officials accused by Tarek Bitar knew that hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrates were stored in a hangar at the port, without any security measures.

“Hezbollah is not the society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul”

What does Tarek Bitar risk by attacking the ruling establishment? The recent history of Lebanon remains marked by dozens of political assassinations, journalists, intellectuals, and even Presidents of the Republic, more than 200 over the last 80 years. So some like Wissam Laham simply fear for the life of the judge: “We must not forget that he was threatened by Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is not the society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul! They have somewhat violent military activities.”

Judge Bitar knows this well. He also knows that even if he manages to complete his investigation, the investigation will then have to be presented to a tribunal, made up of judges who will also be subject to political pressure. Magistrates who risk being much less courageous than Tarek Bitar. They can invalidate his indictment, or just put it away in a drawer. On January 24, the Beirut prosecutor’s office also invalidated the indictment by Judge Bitar of the public prosecutor and three magistrates in the explosion case. As long as the judiciary will not be completely independent in Lebanon, the investigation into the port explosion has practically no chance of succeeding.