| See also here for the one who left town in a hurry. |
"I have nothing against Judge Oueidat but there are some suspicions that came up. He should come and defend himself," Bitar said. "I will continue with the case and I will not leave it unless they remove me completely."
"Everyone that I summon has to come because the blood of the victims is above everything," the judge added.
Lebanese judge Tarek Bitar crossed all red lines and openly challenged an entrenched ruling elite, as he decided to resume his investigation after a slew of lawsuits, mostly from politicians charged in the case, forced him to stop work for 13 months.
On Wednesday, he refused to step down
...
Hell no! The money's too good!...
from the probe, rejecting charges brought against him by
...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers, a practice dating back to the heady days of human sacrifice to Baal Moloch...'s top prosecutor in the politically charged case, Judge Ghassan Oueidat.
Abdel Massih: Justice minister's bodyguards assaulted MPs
[An Nahar] Chaos ensued Thursday inside the Justice Palace, after over a dozen politicians from reformist and traditional opposition parties met with caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury.
The heated meeting about the recent developments in the Beirut port probe led to scuffles with the minister’s guards who allegedly tried to snatch their phones as they filmed the meeting. Some of them say they were attacked, and have called for Khoury to resign.
"These aren’t guards, these are the dogs of the justice minister," opposition parliamentarian Adib Abdelmassih told the press after leaving the Justice Palace. "We were talking about the law in a civilized way and the parliamentarians were giving their opinions on the matter."
Abdel Massih called on the caretaker minister Henry Khoury to resign, after the incident, saying that the bodyguards of the justice minister assaulted the politicians.
MPs Waddah al-Sadek, Melhem Khalaf and others were asking the minister to act, after the latest judicial turmoil.
The bodyguards pushed the politicians and tried to take their mobile phones, Abdel Masih said.
"We raised our voice, calling on the minister to take an administrative decision regarding the deep rift in the judiciary. The minister raised his voice back and his guards attacked us and beat us," Abdel Massih said.
Related:
Beirut port blast: 2023-01-26 Lebanon's prosecutor general has ordered the release of all suspects detained in connection with the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast
Beirut port blast: 2022-09-22 Judicial rift over naming of alternate judge in port blast case
Beirut port blast: 2022-09-10 Families of port blast victims storm justice ministry
Beirut port blast: 2023-01-26 Lebanon's prosecutor general has ordered the release of all suspects detained in connection with the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast
Beirut port blast: 2022-09-22 Judicial rift over naming of alternate judge in port blast case
Beirut port blast: 2022-09-10 Families of port blast victims storm justice ministry