Lebanese MPs accused of Beirut blast ‘cover up’ over trial move

Critics say parliamentary move for judicial body to try officials over Beirut port blast shields them from prosecution.

Beirut, Lebanon – Dozens of Lebanese MPs have pledged support for a parliamentary motion allowing a special judicial body to investigate and try caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and four ex-ministers over last year’s Beirut Port explosion, but legal activists and the families of the blast victims slammed the move as an attempt to shield the officials from accountability. The Beirut Port explosion on August 4 last year killed more than 200 people, wounded about 6,500, and flattened part of the Lebanese capital. Many blame officials for storing hundreds of tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate at the port, which ignited and caused the explosion. A judicial source told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that at least 50 MPs had initially signed the motion to try the officials at the Supreme Council, a judicial body charged with matters of impeachment.