Michel Aoun indictment sought over Beirut port blast

A Lebanese prosecutor has requested that former president Michel Aoun be indicted over the 2020 Beirut port blast, a judicial official told AFP on Tuesday.

The prosecutor at Lebanon's Court of Cassation asked investigating judge Tarek Bitar to press charges against Aoun, the official said, speaking anonymously. The official said charges were being sought because Aoun allegedly had prior knowledge of the presence and danger of ammonium nitrate at the port without taking necessary measures or referring the matter to the Higher Defence Council.

The August 4, 2020 explosion killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500 and devastated parts of Beirut. Lebanese authorities have said it was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

Nobody has been punished for the blast despite public anger and demands for justice from victims' families.

A judicial official told AFP in March that Bitar had completed his probe and referred the case to the public prosecutor for review. Prosecutor Mohammad Saab submitted that review on Tuesday, and the official said it specified the responsibility of more than 70 defendants, including current and former politicians, security and military officials, and civil servants.

The decision on charges remains with Bitar, who could issue them in the coming weeks. The case had been slowed by political and legal wrangling since 2023, including efforts to remove Bitar from the investigation, but he resumed his work last year.