United For Lebanon Press Conference: 28 defendants named including Heads of Government, Ministers, Army Commanders, General Directors and Judges in the Beirut bomb complaint

Today, Wednesday, August 12, 2020, United For Lebanon held a press conference at the Press Club in Beirut, to talk about the judicial complaint that they submitted in front of the First Investigative Judge in Beirut against 28 people responsible for the disastrous explosion at the Beirut port , which was requested to be referred to the Judicial Council, in addition to informing the public of the facts and circumstances of the complaint which proves the involvement of all defendants in the Beirut tragedy. Two speeches were given by Lawyer Rami Ollaik and Lawyer Cynthia Al Hamawi:

Hamawi:

2750 tons of ammonium exploded in container No. 12 in the port of Beirut, after it had been an inactive volcano that had existed there since 2014, killing more than 160 people and wounding more than 6000 people of different nationalities, and more than 300 thousand people became homeless due to the destruction of their homes.
Each responsible political party throws the ball to the other side under the pretext of non-status and non-authority to intervene, and as we are directly affected by this explosion and as lawyers, our first and last duty is to help the Judiciary forces to eliminate the corruption of the Political Authorities in Lebanon in order to serve justice. We submitted a direct claim to the First Investigating Judge in Beirut under the status of a personal prosecution against those responsible for the Beirut port explosion disaster and all those who are shown by the investigations responsible for the crime of intentional killing, intentional harm, criminal intent and terrorism stipulated in the Lebanese Penal Code, asking the first investigating Judge to interrogate them and refer them to the Judicial Council, or else to the competent Authority.
During this period, none of the current Prime Minister, the current Chief of Government, the Ministers of Works and Finance, the Commander of the army, the Director General of Public Security, the Director General of Army Intelligence, the Director General of State Security, the Director General of Customs and the Director of Beirut port, and the Judges involved in this file, headed by the Attorney General for Discrimination and the Government Commissioner At the military court and others, did not take any procedure or measure to inquire about the fate of these materials and whether they still exist or not in the port despite the correspondence between them regarding these materials and their full awareness of the extent of their danger as they are potentially explosive at any moment, nor have they taken any decision to appoint an expert of explosives to check these materials and whether they are stored safely or not.
We always strive for righteousness and supporting the Judiciary in achieving justice by any legitimate means, because we are certain that despite all the corruption that afflicts Lebanon, there are still honest Judges with a clear conscience who carry out their duties to the fullest, and we are setting our hopes on this class of Judges, in addition to the Council. The judge is the competent Authority to look into such crimes and carry out the necessary investigation with the aim of showing the truth and realizing the truth.

Ollaik:

The catastrophic explosion that occurred is not only related to Beirut and the damage that befell it, but rather it is related to the fate of an entire nation that has been eroded as a result of the corruption epidemic that touched people of all ages, from youngest to eldest, leaving behind citizens who have become homeless without being familiar of their safety and what protection is primarily the duty of the state towards them. The first and most important responsibility of The State is to protect the people and defend their interests against anything that threatens their security and safety. Having this said and given the atrocities and the range of responsibilities – be it of national security or socioeconomic nature – those at the state highest ranks should be held accountable first, it ends directly with those in charge of its vital installations from a port and elsewhere, and not the other way around - As of that, starting with junior employees and ending with those directly responsible for them without reaching those who have actual authority, powers and decisions, those who can issue orders or stop them.

Accordingly, with all impartiality and sincerity, the letter of advocacy and the defense of truth and justice was this lawsuit and its content in terms of clarification of the facts and the load of responsibilities in a way that mimics reality and the law, and declare the best expression of the truth of what is being diffused according to data that have been established that there is collusion between the direct and indirect officials about what it occurred or as a result of negligence, or even a clear abstention from bearing the responsibility of the defendant perpetrators and everyone who was shown by the investigation.

On this basis and without any other consideration whatsoever, United For Lebanon lawyers proceeded with all responsibility to utter a word of truth that no one has actually dared to say until now, content with insinuation, as if the culture of “compromising” in the Lebanese way has become a heritage and destiny.

In this context, it is also important for us to emphasize that this step came to contribute to strengthen the lost sense of accountability among the Lebanese, which basically led to the persistence of corruption, and in documenting the harm that befell them in preparation for the demand for the prosecution and accountability of those responsible for it at the hands of the National Judiciary, and this is what we prefer, or at the hands of any other Judiciary, truth and justice transgress in their importance the formal considerations or the powers available to reach them, so that we do not kill the victims and injure the injured twice.

As for the five-day deadline and no preliminary or evident results from the investigations, as is always the case, unfortunately, at a time when the case is before the Judicial Council - a step for which the late government is grateful - which gives the Lebanese Judiciary the last chance to be or not be, what we put in the drawing of the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, to 'accomplish' or 'step aside'.

In the end, the story is greater in detail than the ammonium or other charge that was present next to it. It is the story of victimized people who are used as a human shield in a conflict they did not choose, in a horrific crime that exceeded in its human dimension the borders of the homeland, and despite this, no one has been dismissed until now, among the leaders of the security and military services, and this is the focus of the utmost disapproval.

In conclusion, we say that we are not dealing with any political accusation that takes the country from one wheel to the other. Rather, we work according to a legal logic supported by evidence, with which we face the corrupt leaders who have compromised our security and interests, and we will pursue them until the last breath however we can. If we do not have an Independent Judiciary and real accountability - hence the fight against corruption and building a nation - then there is no point in all what we are accomplishing ".