The High Judicial Council named judge Tarek Bitar as the new prosecutor after he was proposed for teh post by Minister of Justice Marie-Claude Najm, said the officials. Sawwan was formally notified earlier on Friday that he would no longer lead the probe. Judge Sawwan had accused and summoned for questioning Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and three former ministers on suspicion of negligence that led to the deadly explosion. Image; Relatives of victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion hold portraits of their loved one who killed during the explosion, as they burn tires to block a road during a sit-in outside the Justice Palace, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. The prosecutor investigating last year’s massive blast in Beirut was formally notified Friday that he would no longer lead an enquiry into last year’s deadly port explosion, state-run Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Source: Egypt Independent February 19, 2021 20:37 UTC