BEIRUT, Dec 10 Reuters - The judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion asked security forces to implement an arrest warrant he issued two months ago for a former minister charged with the murder.
Judge Tarek Bitar asked security forces to implement a warrant against former finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil, if security forces are prosecuted for defying judicial orders, a senior judicial source told Reuters.
A number of current and former politicians and security officials have been charged with killing more than 215 people, but have refused to be interrogated by Bitar, saying he lacks the authority to do so and is biased.
His investigation has been stalled by lawsuits filed by suspects seeking his removal. After being suspended for more than a month, it resumed this week.
On October 12th, Bitar issued a warrant for Khalil after Khalil, a current member of parliament, skipped a planned interogation.
On the same day, ministers loyal to Iran-backed Hezbollah and Amal asked for Bitar's removal during a Cabinet session and the goups staged a protest against Bitar on Oct. 14 in Beirut, which descended into violence and armed clashes.
The Cabinet has not met since.
Khalil, the right-hand man of Lebanon's parliament speaker, has remained free and has participated in public life, such as attending a parliamentary session on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, who oversees the Internal Security Forces, told Reuters he had not yet received Bitar's request. Mawlawi was previously unresponsive when asked by a Reuters journalist why security forces under his command were not implementing the warrant.
The Internal Security Forces said on November 8 they had asked the judiciary for clarification on whether Khalil could be arrested while Parliament was in session due to a constitutional article that limits when MPs can be arrested while parliament is in session.