The Lebanese state-owned National Bank said Diab and two former public works ministers and a former finance minister had been accused of criminal negligence in the August 4 bombings, which could have caused hundreds of deaths. News agency. These are the highest allegations in an investigation into an explosion believed to have been caused by the explosion of thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored for years in a port in the Lebanese capital. Judge Padi Sawan, who is hearing the case, is due to hear Diab and former ministers next week. “The prime minister’s conscience is clear. “Hassan Diab will not allow any party to target premiership.” The Diaben government, which resigned in the wake of the bombing and will be replaced when the new cabinet is formed, has repeatedly agreed to receive advance warnings about the dangers posed by the storage of explosives at the port. The warehouse was also reported to previous governments, but no one solved the problem. It is not clear what triggered the explosion, but government officials have said they did not rule out humiliation. The eruption destroyed much of Beirut’s east coast, killing more than 204 people, injuring at least 6,500 and evacuating about 300,000. Two former ministers have been indicted – former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works minister Youssef Fenianos – who were recently cleared by the Trump administration for links to Hezbollah. The streets of Lebanon, already mired in a financial meltdown, political crisis and global epidemics, have seen widespread outrage over the bombings. Protesters have been harshly critical of the investigation, calling it slow and lacking in transparency and independence. .
Source