Lebanon prosecutor orders arrest next year of politician charged over Beirut blast

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BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s public prosecutor on Tuesday instructed the safety forces to arrest a prime politician over the Beirut port blast, a senior judicial supply stated, setting the stage for a potential confrontation with the lawmaker and his highly effective ally Hezbollah.

Tarek Bitar, the decide investigating final year’s catastrophic port explosion, first issued a warrant for the arrest of Ali Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister, on Oct. 12 after he didn’t attend a scheduled interrogation.

He is a right-hand man of House Speaker Nabih Berri and one of a number of present and former senior politicians and safety officers charged in reference to the blast that killed greater than 215 individuals. All have refused to be interrogated by Bitar, saying he lacks the authority to take action and is biased.

The arrest warrant referred by Bitar to the safety forces on Tuesday known as for Khalil, who can also be an MP, to be detained as soon as parliament is out of session, which in line with the structure would be the case from Jan. 1.

The structure bars the arrest of parliament members whereas the legislature is in session except they’re caught within the act of against the law or a vote is held to permit for his or her prosecution.

Bitar had initially issued the warrant when parliament was out of session however safety forces held off implementing it, main Bitar on Friday to name on them to execute it or danger dealing with prosecution themselves.

On Monday, the Amal Movement, of which Khalil is a senior member, warned in a press release that the judiciary was getting used within the case “to strike inside stability.”

An October protest known as for by Hezbollah and Amal towards Bitar two days after he issued the warrant towards Khalil descended into the worst road preventing in Beirut in additional than a decade.

(Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean)



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