On Friday night, the Lebanese capital witnessed clashes between members of the state security apparatus and a number of families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, which occurred in August 2020.
The move came as a protest against the arrest of William Noun, one of the victims’ families, by the security apparatus, after he was interrogated for hours.
William is the brother of one of the victims of the explosion, Joe Noun, a member of the fire brigade, who died while performing his duty to put out the fire that broke out in the port of Beirut before the explosion on August 4, 2020.
However, the matter developed into a fight and scramble between the families of the victims and the security forces, and the protesters threatened to escalate and implement movements in the street in the event that Noun was not released immediately.
A video clip spread showing security forces assaulting one of the participants in the solidarity sit-in with Noun in front of the State Security Office, where he was knocked to the ground and kicked amid the protesters’ disapproval, according to what the circulating videos show.
A number of citizens also closed the main road in the Jbeil region, north of Beirut, in protest of Noun’s arrest.
Noun was investigated, along with 13 other people, against the backdrop of protests in front of the Palace of Justice in the Lebanese capital, to demand justice in the case.
A number of Lebanese deputies attended the State Security Center in solidarity with the people, denouncing what they considered “a police practice against the families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion.”
Noun’s arrest pending investigation came against the backdrop of a judicial indication issued by Judge Zaher Hamadeh, due to his statements after protest movements by the families of the victims of the port explosion, in which he threatened to blow up the Palace of Justice in Beirut, after he had been summoned with a number of activists to the investigation because of the smashing Glass in the Palace of Justice, Beirut, during a movement by the people, last Tuesday.
The families of the victims of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, are calling for the continuation of the investigation into their case, more than a year after it was suspended.
The people reject attempts to appoint a substitute judge for the current judge, Tariq Al-Bitar, who handles the case file, accusing the authorities of obstructing investigations and preventing justice from being achieved.
