There’s A Protest Thursday To Block The ‘Session Of Shame’ In Lebanon

There's A Protest Thursday To Block The 'Session Of Shame' In Lebanon
Xinhua

Families of victims of the Beirut Port Explosion are calling upon the Lebanese to join them in a protest in front of the UNESCO building on Thursday.

The planned protest aims at blocking MPs from attending the Parliament session called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The goal of the session is to discuss the request by several MPs to have Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the Beirut blast probe, submit evidence and documents linked to his request to have the immunity of several officials lifted in preparation for their prosecution.

The MPs being pursued by Bitar in relation to the case have also requested that they be investigated before the Supreme Judicial Council instead of appearing before the judicial investigator.

“This session comes to complete a set of practices that violate the constitution and the law, which were carried out by the ruling forces to overthrow the work of the judicial investigator or set red lines for him,” the families said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

They also said that what they referred to as the “Session of Shame” was “an attempt to obscure the truth and help the suspects escape from punishment.”

In addition to calling for the protest, the families invited all blocs and MPs who have rejected the parliamentary request for evidence, as well as those who have withdrawn their signatures from the request, to boycott the session in order to disrupt its quorum.