The 5-day deadline for the investigation of the Beirut explosion ended on Sunday, August 9th, and the results have reportedly been submitted to the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers.
The investigative committee tasked with the probe has submitted its findings to the Cabinet for the country’s officials to review it during the Baabda meeting on Monday, sources told Al-Joumhouria.
So far, what’s been revealed is that the probe’s report underlines the administrative responsibilities for the explosion, from the date the ammonium nitrate shipment entered the Port of Beirut until the moment of the blast.
This should facilitate the judiciary’s work in identifying the public employees that are to be held accountable for the catastrophic event.
In this regard, the said source reported that a list of 20 names, including several ministers, has been included in the investigation results in order to summon and question the named officials accordingly.
As for the detainment and interrogation procedures, they are the responsibility of the competent judicial authorities, the report noted.
Notably, during Monday’s Cabinet session, the government referred the case of the explosion to the Judicial Council, as proposed by Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm, who had announced her resignation in the morning, reportedly without submitting her resignation officially.
Several officials, including Director-General of Lebanese Customs Badri Daher, have been detained and questioned since August 4th, and the interrogations are expected to continue and expand as more information is extracted.
It’s worth mentioning that President Michel Aoun has refused an international probe into the national tragedy, despite the pressing international and local calls to approve it.
