Beirut port blast case moves closer to indictment — Anadolu Agency
In Lebanon, the investigation into the Beirut port explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020, has moved closer to the stage of issuing an indictment. Prosecutor Mohammed Saab submitted a 270-page prosecutorial opinion to investigating judge Tarek Bitar, Anadolu Agency reports.
The explosion killed at least 235 people, while more than 7,000 were injured. Lebanese authorities linked the tragedy to a fire of undetermined origin at the port, where large stocks of ammonium nitrate had been stored without proper safety measures.
Prosecutorial opinion
The prosecution completed its assessment of the materials five months after receiving the case from Bitar. At the end of March, the judge completed his own investigation and sent the materials to prosecutors for an opinion. The document sets out the prosecution's position and requests regarding the investigation conducted.
According to the outlet, Bitar brought charges against more than 70 people, including politicians, security personnel, military officers and civil servants. Shukri Haddad, the rapporteur of the Beirut Bar Association's prosecution office in the case, said the opinion was the first official document to provide a comprehensive judicial assessment of the circumstances of the explosion.
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At the same time, the opinion is not binding on the investigating judge. Bitar will make the final decision on bringing charges in his indictment.
Expectations for trial
Haddad expects that the indictment may be issued by the end of the year. The case is then to be referred to the Judicial Council, Lebanon's highest special judicial body for crimes concerning state security.
According to observers, the prosecutorial opinion describes the arrival at the port in 2013 of a shipment of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, its unloading and transfer to warehouse No. 12, where the substance was stored until the 2020 explosion. The document summarizes correspondence, investigative materials, confessions and testimony, and outlines administrative, security, military and judicial areas of responsibility, but does not itself constitute a formal indictment.
The investigation was repeatedly halted amid political disputes in Lebanon. In 2021, Hezbollah demanded Bitar's removal, accusing him of politicizing the case, and in 2023 the investigation stopped completely. Bitar resumed his work after Joseph Aoun was elected president in early 2025 and a new government headed by Nawaf Salam was formed.
