Beirut port blast case nears indictment after six years

Lebanese Public Prosecutor Judge Mohammed Saab submitted a 270-page opinion to investigative Judge Tarek Bitar last week, moving the case closer to indictment six years after the catastrophic Beirut port explosion killed at least 235 people and injured more than 7,000 others across the capital. The document outlines the prosecution's assessment of the circumstances surrounding the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at Warehouse 12 since 2013, according to the state news agency NNA.

Saab completed the opinion five months after receiving the case file from Bitar, who concluded his investigation in late March and referred it to prosecutors for their assessment. The submission sets the stage for a formal indictment that legal experts anticipate could be issued before the end of the year, after which the entire case will transfer to the Supreme Judicial Council for trial.

Legal significance and judicial discretion

Shukri Haddad, rapporteur of the Beirut Bar Association's prosecution office, told Anadolu that the submission represents a critical juncture in the investigation. "The public prosecution's opinion is the first official document to provide a comprehensive judicial assessment of the facts, and its importance lies in presenting the first judicial account of what happened on Aug. 4," Haddad said, emphasizing that the document remains confidential and accessible only to the Court of Cassation lawyer and the investigative judge.

Haddad noted that the findings are not binding on Bitar, who retains sole discretion to determine whether to indict any individual or official. "The opinion and the findings it contains are not binding on the investigative judge, who may accept or reject them, as the final decision rests with Bitar through his indictment," he stated.

Former president implicated as case resumes

The opinion reportedly holds former President Michel Aoun criminally responsible for the explosion, citing his alleged knowledge of the ammonium nitrate storage and failure to act, according to the Lebanese news website Asas. Aoun has since filed a judicial complaint alleging the fabrication of falsehoods and the disclosure of confidential investigation information, arguing that such reports create a media-driven conviction outside the judicial process and obscure the identity of those actually responsible.

The investigation, which Bitar suspended in 2023 after Hezbollah demanded his removal and amid Lebanon's political paralysis, resumed earlier this year following the election of President Joseph Aoun and the formation of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government. Trials are expected to commence following the indictment, with families of the victims continuing to demand accountability for the August 2020 blast that devastated the capital.