Report: Bitar to receive prosecution's review within days, to issue indictment this year
Beirut port blast lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar will receive the public prosecution’s assessment of his draft indictment in the next few days, which paves the way for the issuance of the long-awaited indictment, MTV reported on Monday.
It said that the review will be sent to Bitar by Attorney General Judge Mohammad Saab and that Bitar will issue the indictment before the end of the year.
The Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported that the assessment will be delivered on Tuesday and that Bitar will only need a few days to issue the indictment. Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath channel for its part said that the indictment will be issued before December.
The massive explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500 and laid waste to swathes of the capital.
Lebanese authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.
The file has witnessed political and judicial wrangling over the past six years and Bitar had summoned and listened to a number of political, judicial, administrative and security officials none of whom are currently in custody.
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