Tarek Bitar

Tarek Bitar is a <a href="/facts/Lebanon/2dReTXyp">Lebanese</a> judge and the head of <a href="/facts/Beirut/0sxJRAqW">Beirut’s</a> criminal court, who is the second judge to lead the investigation of the <a href="/facts/2020_Beirut_explosion/T6Sd0Thd">2020 Beirut Port explosion</a>, succeeding <a href="/facts/Fadi_Sawan/IGkg7dSN">Fadi Sawwan</a> who was dismissed by the Lebanese court after charging two former <a href="/facts/Amal_Movement/yNfIHl5q">Amal Party</a> ministers over the blast, which was caused by 2,750 tonnes of <a href="/facts/Ammonium_nitrate/aSc96wBX">ammonium nitrate</a> negligently stored in the port for over six years. Sawwan's dismissal was objected to by the victims’ families because they feared that it would take the case back to zero. In September 2021, Bitar received a threat by <a href="/facts/Hezbollah/HRhTo2rI">Hezbollah</a>.
Bitar is described as having no bias or affiliations to any political party.
On 14 October 2021, protests were instigated by the <a href="/facts/Shia_Islam/JIQl7ooz">Shiite</a> groups of <a href="/facts/Hezbollah/HRhTo2rI">Hezbollah</a> and the <a href="/facts/Amal_Movement/yNfIHl5q">Amal Movement</a>, rebuffed by the <a href="/facts/Lebanese_Armed_Forces/5rVqm6F8">Lebanese Army</a>, outside the <a href="/facts/Palace_of_Justice_(Beirut)/hYQuJsRK">Justice Palace</a> in Eastern Beirut, demanding an end to Bitar's judgeship, accusing him of <a href="/facts/Political_bias/APmB0vEE">political bias</a> and incompetence. Hezbollah partisans have claimed that <a href="/facts/Lebanese_Forces/uIfWEt83">Lebanese Forces</a> supporters were present, though this is unconfirmed. <a href="/facts/2021_Beirut_clashes/KAaMahDY">Clashes</a> erupted between the militants leaving six protesters and one civilian dead. In December 2022 the investigation was suspended and on January 2023 all suspects were released in an ilegal manner by Ghassan Oueidat Lebanon’s top prosecutor. On May 2025 it was reported that he will issue indictment in the 2020 Beirut port explosion case, on August 4. This will be the fifth anniversary of the disaster.

Tarek Bitar open-in-new

Tarek Bitar