'Politicians hide behind their immunity' Lebanese activist says

Aerial view of the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it, one day after the massive explosion on August 05, 2020.
Aerial view of the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it, one day after the massive explosion on August 05, 2020. Copyright AFP
By Euronews
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A year has passed since a massive port explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, leaving more than 200 civilians killed, over 6,500 injured and hundreds of thousands internally displaced. Not a single official report was issued to tell the people the truth of what happened during the blast.

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No politicians or officials have been held accountable in the year since a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, activists say.

The explosion killed more than 200 people, injured over 6,500 and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

Diane Assaf, lawyer and political activist who herself has lost a friend in the blast, says that even after a year not a single official report was issued to tell the people what caused the ammonium nitrate explosion.

According to her, the Lebanese judiciary is not capable of "reaching the truth" or holding people accountable because politicians interfere in the judiciary.

"They don't comply with the legal decisions and they hide behind their immunities. So although we have some good, competent, ethical judges, the problem is with the judiciary as well as the whole system," Diane Assaf told Euronews.

Lebanese lawyers and activists are calling for the establishment of an international impartial and an independent investigative commission.

"This time, Lebanese people will fight till the end until justice is served. Lebanese people are adamant about finding the truth," she said.

"This nation cannot live without the truth and without justice. We are fighting thirty years of corruption, of incompetence, of murders and of impunity. We are aware that drastic transformation cannot happen overnight, but it's definitely the end of an era and the beginning of a new one," she added.

Watch the full video report in the player above.

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