The lawyers of ex-minister Ali Hassan Khalil intend to file a new recusal lawsuit in the coming hours against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, informed sources said.
The sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that the lawsuit will be filed before the Civil Court of Cassation that is chaired by Judge Naji Eid.
Lebanon prosecutor has told security forces to arrest former minister Ali Hasan Khalil when parliament is out of session (as of Jan. 1).#BeirutBlast Judge Tarek Bitar Friday insisted the warrant issued on Oct. 12 be enforced.
— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) December 14, 2021
Potential showdown looming.https://t.co/yXnnC9sKQI
Khalil’s lawyers “are racing against time and are the ones in the most hurry to recuse Bitar in this period, especially after the latter returned the in-absentia arrest warrant issued against their client to the public prosecution and asked that it be enforced as soon as possible,” the sources added.
Bitar’s move “embarrassed the public prosecution, which found itself obliged to refer it to security agencies,” the sources went on to say.
Separately, a judicial source told the daily that Bitar “looked into the content of the Russian satellite images of the Port of Beirut, which were taken by a Russian satellite before and during the (August 4, 2020) explosion.”
Describing the images as “good,” the sources revealed that Bitar “took the information he wants and will make use of it in his investigations.”
JUST IN: Judge investigating last year's massive Beirut Port blast seeks to charge current caretaker Prime Minister and several security chiefs and former ministers
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 2, 2021
Asked whether the images reveal the cause of the explosion or whether it was the result of an aerial strike, the source said such information “are part of the confidentiality of the investigation and cannot be revealed except in the indictment that will be issued by Bitar after the completion of all aspects of the probe.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
