The expedited law proposal aims to prevent the demolition of the Beirut port wheat silos laying in the wake of the Beirut Explosion until a final indictment is reached and charges are formally pressed against those accountable.
MPs Georges Okais and Imad Wakim of the Lebanese Forces (LF) Party proposed, on Tuesday, the expedited law while expressing their concerns that the demolition of the silos, now considered the emblem of the infamous disaster, will slow down the investigation and erase people’s memories.
“The investigation was formally passed on to the Judiciary Council, and a judicial investigator has been assigned to the case, while protocol insists that an indictment be made,” the MPs said. “While the cabinet has hurried in its decision to demolish the silos before the indictment was made, the decision is considered tampering with a crime scene.”
The protocol also states that no tampering or altering of any crime scene can be made prior to the closure of the investigation and following the preliminary indictment. This clearly forbids any authority from demolishing or rejuvenating any part of the scene.
The MPs have also asked for the exceptional prioritization of the law draft voting in the next Parliamentary session’s agenda, citing article 109 of the internal code of the Parliament related to expedited cases.
Indictments have not yet been made and a full political/judiciary battle has been waging since Judge Sawan was appointed to the case. Judge Bitar, Sawan’s successor to the case, was the target of intense pressure and a smearing campaign waged by Hezbollah and their allies.
