Lebanese minister denies request to quiz security chief over Beirut blast

Posters depicting security chief Abbas Ibrahim seen on a road leading to Beirut airport on Monday. Caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy rejected Friday Judge Tarek Bitar’s request to question Ibrahim, General Security’s head. (Reuters)

• Nearly one year after the Aug. 4 explosion many ordinary Lebanese are furious that no senior officials have been held to account
• Judge Tarek Bitar’s request to question Abbas Ibrahim, head of General Security agency, was rejected by caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy

BEIRUT: A Lebanese minister has denied a request by the judge probing the Beirut port explosion to question a top security official, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed.
Meanwhile attempts to deliver justice over the catastrophe continue to flounder.
Nearly one year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands more and devastated swathes of the capital, many ordinary Lebanese are furious that no senior officials have been held to account.
The blast was caused by a massive quantity of explosive chemicals that had been stored unsafely at the port for years.
The request from Judge Tarek Bitar to question Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the powerful General Security agency, was rejected by caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy in a letter to the justice minister.
In a statement, Ibrahim said he was subject to the law like all Lebanese. But he said the probe should take place “far away from narrow political considerations.”
Bitar became the lead investigator into the blast after his predecessor, Judge Fadi Sawan, was removed in February following requests from two former ministers he had charged with negligence over the blast.
Sawan had charged three ex-ministers and the outgoing prime minister Hassan Diab with negligence. But they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers.
A parliamentary committee convened on Friday to study a request by Bitar for immunity to be lifted from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk.
Families of the victims protested nearby, some clutching photos of their relatives.
After being charged by Sawan, Diab said his conscience was clear, Khalil said he had no role in the blast and Zeaiter called the charges “a blatant violation.” Machnouk has also denied any responsibility.