Families of the victims of the Beirut blast

“Today you have killed us all over again!...”

Supporters of victims of the Beirut port explosion react during a protest, after a Lebanese court removed the judge leading the investigation into the explosion, outside the Justice Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 19, 2021.

In a recent turn of events, Judge Fadi Sawan was removed from the investigation of Beirut Blast due to absurd reasons. Someone or some entity wanted him off the investigation and as a result, he was replaced by Judge Tarek El Bitar. Families of the victims were devastated by this news as this showed that the state would never hold the powerful to account. As such, they staged demonstrations on streets condemning the deplorable situation in the country: The economy is slowly degenerating and dying while grave injustices are being ignored on a massive scale. As such, families of the victims gathered at the Palace of Justice in Beirut on the 18th of February Thursday evening to protest Sawan's exclusion from the investigation. They wore black clothes, carried pictures of their dead loved ones and held signs that read "What have become the results of the investigations?".

Human Rights activists immediately condemned the ruling as the latest example of a deep-seated political class positioning itself above the law. Sawan's removal "makes a mockery of justice and is an insult to the victims of the blast", Human Rights Watch researcher Aya Majzoub said. The ruling showed "politicians are not subject to the rule of law. This charade needs to end ... We need an international, independent investigation as soon as possible.", she added.

"Today you have killed us all over again! The investigation is over. We're back at square one," cried out one of the protesters.

Communication and Public Relations Department