Hezbollah sues PM-designate’s brother over blast accusation

Hezbollah is suing the brother of Lebanon’s prime minister-designate after he accused the militia of causing the 4 August Beirut blast, local television station Al-Manar reported.

Bahaa Hariri, the brother of Saad, is being sued for slander over his accusations.

Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Mussawi announced the case to reporters last week, saying the group would seek to press charges against Hariri, a harsh critic of the organisation, among others.

Mousawi said: “There are news websites that step up to accuse Hezbollah of being responsible for the Beirut Port explosion… All of these claims are false as they lack evidence… They are cheap and shameful.”

The Shia group also sued former Christian lawmaker Fares Souaid and the website of the Lebanese Forces Party, both of which claimed the group was behind the devastating blast.

The explosion happened when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored improperly in Beirut port’s warehouse 12 for six years, ignited and exploded.

The blast razed the city, leaving more than 200 dead, 6,500 injured and over 300,000 homeless.

Since the blast, several of Hezbollah’s opponents have claimed the group stored weapons and explosive chemicals in the port.

READ: Lebanese designer slammed for explosion debris bag

No evidence Hezbollah stored chemicals in the port has come to light, however, and the Shia organisation has denied the claims.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun also branded the accusations “impossible”, stating that his ally did not have an arms depot at the port.

Critics have pointed out that Hezbollah was the only group allowed to keep its weapons at the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, because the group was fighting Israeli forces.

An investigation into the blast has failed to yield serious results, with senior officials yet to face justice.

Lebanon will rise up from its ashes – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Documents show top port authority officials and senior political leadership were aware the explosive chemicals were stored in the port but failed to get them removed.

A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe concluded in October also failed to reach a firm conclusion about what caused the explosion.

Other US and European government agencies have said they strongly believe the blast was accidental, Reuters reported at the time.

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