Lebanese security forces arrested last night activist William Noun, one of the faces of the protests by relatives and survivors of the Beirut port explosion, for threatening the authorities after criticizing their inaction in determining responsibility.
Noun, released this morning at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is now free on bail, according to the official news agency ANI.
Speaking to the media shortly after his release, Noun assured that he would continue to fight «as long as the investigation is obstructed», before thanking the mediation of the leader of the Maronite Church of Lebanon, Bechara Raï, for his release, reports ‘L’Orient le Jour’.
More than two years after the huge detonation in the port of the Lebanese capital on August 4, 2020, which left at least 218 dead and 6,500 wounded, the lack of results in the investigation has provoked an enormous social tension that adds to the economic one that has been shaking the country for years.
Efforts by the investigating judge, Tarek Bitar, to summon former ministers linked to the explosion to testify have failed in the face of the slowness of the process to remove their immunity while the magistrate has been constantly accused of behaving in a sectarian and partisan manner.
For Amnesty International, the blocking of Judge Bitar amounts to the «crushing of an internal investigation» and calls on the international community to «heed the calls of the victims for an international investigation».
The arrest of the activist, whose brother, firefighter Joe Noun, died while trying to contain the fire caused by the first of the two explosions at the port, provoked a wave of mobilizations in the capital, which continued until Saturday afternoon.
According to the indictment, Noun threatened Thursday night during an interview to «blow up the Palace of Justice» if justice was not served in the incident.
It should be recalled that Tony Saliba, director general of State Security and close friend of former President Michel Aoun, is suspected of failing to perform his duties, according to the preliminary findings of an investigation that has been stalled for a year. Saliba was re-elected to the post in March last year, according to ‘L’Orient’.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
