The judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion case, Judge Tariq Bitar, was unable to interrogate the former army chief, General Jean Kahwagi, as a defendant in the case, despite the latter’s appearance before him with his legal representative, lawyer Antoine Toubia, as he and Bitar immediately withdrew from the interrogation procedures, and Toubia withdrew from the session, and informed The Judicial Investigator is committed to the Bar Association’s decision to go on an open strike and boycott the investigation and trial sessions, which caused the interrogation to be postponed to the second of August, knowing that Kahwaji’s attorney confirmed in a brief statement upon leaving the Palace of Justice that his client’s presence “refutes the claim that he is afraid of the investigation.” “General Kahwagi has nothing to hide, and there are many documents that he will show to the judicial investigator,” he said.

The former director of intelligence, retired Brigadier General Camille Daher, who also appeared before Judge Bitar in the presence of his legal representative, lawyer Mark Habaka, and indeed the interrogation of Daher was disrupted, due to the withdrawal of his agent from the session in line with the decision of the Bar Association, which necessitated the postponement for the next week, while the defendant Mustafa Al Baghdadi, the naval agent of the ship “Rossos” that transported ammonium nitrate from Georgia to the port of Beirut did not attend, his attorney, Sakhr Al-Hashem, attended on his behalf, who informed the judicial investigator that Baghdadi left the American University Hospital today and returned to his home and that his health condition is so critical that it does not allow him to attend the Palace of Justice Then, Bitar decided to personally go to his house next week to interrogate him.

Next Monday, the legal deadline given to the Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Al-Khoury, regarding the investigator’s book, in which he requested permission to prosecute the Director-General of Public Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, as a defendant in the case, is expected to expire, and Judge Al-Khoury is expected to take his decision either by giving permission what allows the investigator The judiciary summons Major General Ibrahim and interrogates him, or rejects this request by a reasoned decision, and at that time all prosecution procedures against Major General Ibrahim will stop.

Judicial sources revealed to “Sawt Beirut International” that the next week “will be full of interrogations that will include a number of defendants.” The sources refused to disclose the names of the defendants for security reasons.