Beirut Port blast victims say five years later, justice feels a bit closer

When 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded successful Beirut’s larboard connected August 4, 2020, it ripped done the city, sidesplitting much than 218 people. Among them was three-year-old Alexandra Naggear.

Five years later, the probe into who is astatine responsibility for the blast has been delayed, and astatine times derailed, by governmental interference.

“The astir important happening for america is not for the decision, but for afloat justness to happen,” Tracy Naggear, Alexandra’s parent and a cardinal activistic advocating for the blast’s victims, told Al Jazeera by phone. “And we won’t judge a half-truth oregon half-justice.”

As the 5th day of the calamity approaches, determination is immoderate optimism that the judicial probe is yet moving successful the close absorption aft facing obstacles, mostly from well-connected politicians refusing to reply questions and the erstwhile nationalist authoritative blocking the investigation.

A determination from the pb authoritative is expected soon, activists and ineligible sources acquainted with the substance told Al Jazeera. And portion the roadworthy to justness is inactive long, for the archetypal time, determination is simply a feeling that momentum is building.

Justice derailed

“You tin consciousness a affirmative ambiance [this time],” lawyer Tania Daou-Alam told Al Jazeera.

Daou-Alam present lives successful the United States, but is successful Lebanon for the yearly commemoration of the blast, which includes protests and a memorial.

A protester holds up a representation of three-year-old Alexandra Naggear, who was killed successful the Beirut larboard detonation [Kareem Chehayeb/Al Jazeera]

Her hubby of 20 years, Jean-Frederic Alam, was killed by the blast, which was 1 of the largest non-nuclear explosions successful modern history.

Daou-Alam is besides 1 of 9 victims suing the US-based institution TGS successful a Texas tribunal for $250m, claiming it was progressive successful chartering the Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged vessel that carried the ammonium nitrate into Beirut’s larboard successful 2013.

She told Al Jazeera that the lawsuit is much about  “demanding accountability and entree to documents that would shed much airy connected the broader concatenation of responsibility” than it is astir compensation.

The colonisation of Beirut is utilized to facing crises without authorities help. Numerous bombings and assassinations person occurred, with the authorities rarely, if ever, holding anyone accountable.

Frustration and a consciousness of abandonment by the state, the governmental system, and the individuals who payment from it already boiled implicit into an uprising successful October 2019, little than a twelvemonth earlier the blast.

In the contiguous aftermath of the explosion, residents cleaned up the metropolis themselves. Politicians who came for photograph opportunities were chased retired by aggravated citizens, and communal assistance filled the spread near by the state.

The extremity of Lebanon’s 15-year civilian warfare successful 1990 acceptable the code for the impunity that has plagued the state ever since. Experts and historians accidental militia leaders traded their fatigues for suits, pardoned each other, awarded themselves ministries and began rerouting the country’s resources to their idiosyncratic coffers.

Preliminary investigations recovered that the detonation was caused by ammonium nitrate stored astatine Beirut larboard successful improper conditions for six years.

They besides recovered that galore apical officials, including then-President Michel Aoun, had been informed of the ammonium nitrate’s presence, but chose not to act.

Judge Fadi Sawan was chosen to pb the afloat probe successful August 2020, but recovered himself sidelined aft calling immoderate notable politicians for questioning. Two ministers helium charged with negligence asked that the lawsuit beryllium transferred to different judge.

A tribunal decision, seen by Reuters, claimed that due to the fact that Sawan’s location had been damaged successful the blast, helium would not beryllium impartial.

Replacing him successful February 2021 was Judge Tarek Bitar. Like Sawan, Judge Bitar called large governmental figures successful for questioning and aboriginal issued apprehension warrants for them. Among them are Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeiter, adjacent allies of Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who inactive garbage to respond to Judge Bitar’s requests and assertion they person parliamentary immunity.

Despite overmuch fashionable support, galore of Judge Bitar’s efforts were impeded, with Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces astatine times refusing to execute warrants and the erstwhile Court of Cassation nationalist prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat, ordering his probe halted.

A antheral stands adjacent graffiti astatine the damaged larboard aft the explosion. In Beirut connected August 11, 2020 [Hannah McKay/Reuters]

A caller era

In aboriginal 2025, Lebanon elected a caller president, Joseph Aoun, and a caller premier minister, Nawaf Salam.

In their inaugural addresses, some spoke astir the value of uncovering justness for the victims of the larboard explosion.

“The existent justness curate seems determined to spell each the way, and helium has promised that the justice volition nary longer look immoderate hurdles and that the ministry volition supply each assistance required,” Karim Emile Bitar, a Lebanese governmental expert with nary narration to the justice investigating the larboard explosion, told Al Jazeera.

Human Rights Watch reported successful January 2025 that Judge Bitar had resumed his investigation, “after 2 years of being stymied by Lebanese authorities”.

On July 29, Salam issued a memorandum declaring August 4 a time of nationalist mourning. On July 17, Aoun met with the families of victims killed successful the explosion.

“My committedness is clear: We indispensable uncover the full information and clasp accountable those who caused this catastrophe,” Aoun said.

Oueidat, the erstwhile nationalist prosecutor, was replaced by Judge Jamal Hajjar successful an acting capableness successful 2024, earlier being confirmed arsenic his successor successful April 2025.

In March 2025, Hajjar reversed Oueidat’s decisions and allowed Judge Bitar to proceed his investigation.

Legal experts and activists person been pleased by the progress.

“Actual individuals implicated successful the lawsuit are showing up to interrogations,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher astatine Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera. Among them are Tony Saliba, the erstwhile director-general of State Security, Abbas Ibrahim, erstwhile director-general of the General Directorate of General Security, and Hassan Diab, premier curate astatine the clip of the explosion.

But this is inactive not capable for those wanting justness to beryllium served aft 5 years of battles, activists and experts note.

“We are asking for laws that are capable to support and enactment the judiciary and the appointments of vacant justice [posts], truthful these things volition amusement the authorities is connected our broadside this time,” Daou-Alam said.

Even with the caller authorities pushing for accountability, immoderate are inactive trying to disrupt the process.

Hassan Khalil and Zeiter inactive garbage to look earlier Judge Bitar, and a combat has emerged implicit the country’s judicial independence.

“We tin lone get justness if the judiciary acts independently truthful that they tin spell aft individuals and truthful the information services tin enactment independently without governmental interference,” Kaiss said.

Protesters assistance placards depicting the victims of the 2020 Beirut larboard blast during a march adjacent the Lebanese capital’s harbour connected August 4, 2023, marking the 3rd day of the deadly detonation [Joseph Eid/AFP]

Time for accountability

The past fewer years person been a turbulent play of myriad crises for Lebanon.

A banking illness robbed galore radical of their savings and near the state successful a historical economical crisis. Amid that and the COVID-19 pandemic came the blast, and planetary organisations and experts clasp the Lebanese governmental constitution responsible.

“The clip has travel to nonstop a awesome to Lebanese nationalist sentiment that immoderate of those responsible, adjacent if they are successful precocious positions, volition beryllium held accountable,” governmental expert Bitar said.

“Accountability would beryllium the archetypal measurement for the Lebanese successful Lebanon and the diaspora to regain trust,” helium said, “and without trust, Lebanon volition not beryllium capable to recover.”

Still, Bitar maintained, advancement connected the larboard blast dossier doesn’t mean each reply volition travel to the forefront.

“This transgression was truthful immense that, similar galore akin crimes successful different countries, sometimes it takes years and decades, and we ne'er find retired what truly happened,” helium said.

Blast unfortunate Tracy Naggear noted that “[our] fight… is chiefly for our daughter, for Alexandra, of course”.

“But we are [also] doing it for each the victims and for our country,” she said. ‘[It’s] for each azygous idiosyncratic that has been touched by the 4th of August, from a elemental scratch to a breached window.”