Latest news with #JusticeForVictims
UAE Moments
4 days ago
- Politics
- UAE Moments
Hundreds Gather in Lebanon to Mark Five Years Since Beirut Blast
On Monday, August 4, hundreds of Lebanese gathered solemnly near Beirut's coastline to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the devastating port explosion that killed over 200 people and injured thousands in 2020—one of the largest non‑nuclear explosions in history. The gathering included portraits of victims, Lebanese flags, and a moving reading of names, followed by a silence at precisely 6:07 p.m.—the exact time when the blast tore through the city. Despite early promises from government officials that accountability would follow swiftly, no individuals have been held responsible for the disaster. Victims' families and rights groups voiced deep frustration at the lack of progress. As eyewitness William Noun declared, 'This file needs to close. It's been five years and we don't want to have a sixth'. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, both elected in 2025, pledged renewed focus on the investigation. Aoun stated: 'Justice will not die, and accountability will inevitably come,' though notably neither leader attended the memorial event. Investigating judge Tarek Bitar has resumed work on the stalled probe. While he has questioned senior officials and security personnel, a formal indictment has yet to be issued, disappointing many who hoped for closure by the anniversary. Activists and legal advocates, including families like that of Paul Naggear, whose young daughter was killed, continue to press for a comprehensive investigation. Amnesty International's Lebanon campaigner, Reina Wehbi, emphasised that 'justice delayed is justice denied,' calling for a full inquiry to end the impunity that has persisted for half a decade. The wreckage of the grain silos—damaged in the blast and further deteriorating over the years—stands as a lasting monument to the disaster and a symbol of national trauma. This article was previously published on omanmoments. To see the original article, click here
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Families of Beirut port explosion still searching for justice five years on
Families of the victims of a port explosion in Beirut are still searching for justice after an investigation into who is to blame has been repeatedly delayed. On 4 August, 2020, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in a warehouse in the Lebanese capital, killing 218, wounding at least 6,000 and causing billions of dollars of damage. A probe into the explosion has been repeatedly stalled by various corrupt officials dodging accountability, The Associated Press reports, but newly elected president Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced earlier this year that completing the investigation would be a top priority. George Bezdjian, father of Jessica George Bezdjian, a Beirut explosion victim, told the news agency: 'We will reach justice because we are still demanding it. We haven't forgotten. It's been five years, but it feels like yesterday.'
The National
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
'We should never forget': Art book aims to keep Beirut blast on people's minds
Five years have now passed since the tragic Beirut port explosion. While many Lebanese have moved on, those who lost friends and family are still fighting for justice for their loved ones. One such person in Annie Vartivarian, who lost her daughter Gaia Fodoulian in the explosion. To honour Gaia's unfulfilled dream of opening a creative platform, Vartivarian, a gallerist herself, launched Art Design Lebanon in 2020 and has since organised many exhibitions. Next month, she'll be publishing a book which documents and shares the name with the 2023 exhibition, The Blast and Other Stories, by artist and journalist Cherine Yazbeck, serving as a reference and a reminder. The exhibition gathered documentary storytelling, forensic photography, architectural modelling, collage, audio installations, satellite imagery and other media, traversing the trauma and grief of the victim's families and survivors, through artistic expression. For Vartivarian, it keeps the issue present in people's minds, lest they forget that the investigation has stalled and still no one has been held to account. Gaia's sister, Mariana Fodoulian, is president of the Beirut Port Explosion Victims' Families Association, which is still pursuing accountability. 'As Lebanese, we're very proud saying that we turn the page, we go forward, we forget everything and call it resilience,' Vartivarian tells The National. 'Unfortunately, this year, I noticed too many people telling me to 'forget it, this is in past' or they say that they don't want to remember or think about the blast. They don't want to see photos of it. 'Instead, I think now is the right time to publish this book, because this was a catastrophe we should never forget. I purposely waited a few years to publish it, because I knew this would happen. 'For so long this has been the reason why things are always repeated in the country, because I think it's a collective attitude to just 'move on' without solving anything, and it's been like that for almost for 50 years, since the Civil War.' The book will take readers through the nine chapters covered in the exhibition, including interviews, artworks and a breakdown of the events leading up to the explosion, the immediate aftermath and the road to recovery. It also includes parts of the 30-minute documentary Beirut Port Blast Stories, which focuses on the stories of the families of five people who lost their lives. Through links in the book, people can access the videos and sound installations from the exhibition. There are close-ups of an installation of 21 forensic colour photographs Yazbeck took at the foot of the silos, displaying the traces left by the explosion; as well as satellite imagery from before and after the destruction. 'The exhibition was three years of research on the ground in the port… and a deep dive into the hearts and the minds of these families of victims,' Yazbeck tells The National. 'It also really looks at the silos themselves, and what they represented. They were remarkable pieces of architecture that were feeding not only Lebanon but also Syria – millions of people. In a few seconds, it was all destroyed due to mismanagement and negligence. 'One of the important artworks was the model of the silos before and after, reproduced on a 1:200 scale. This was a year of work by a talented student at Alba university who I took to the silos to analyse and reproduce them, with a little artistic flair. 'I wanted people to be able to move around the silos, as they were and as they are now, so that they could see them close up and touch them. 'This way they're preserved, because we don't know what will happen to the remains of the silos. There are always fires in the silos, because there's still some wheat inside. With the rain they ferment and then the heat, it's almost like little explosions and they catch fire. One day they might just fall apart.' Yazbeck was fascinated by the silos' architecture long before the blast, and so a host of pre-explosion shots she had taken over the years were part of the show, now to be printed in the book. While the book will act as a permanent chronicle of the exhibition, it's intended more as a statement, and a refusal to let the horrific event fade into the background. 'You continue to live without them, especially me,' Vartivarian says. 'I lost my daughter, but I'm continuing to live and work. But we have to not forget what happened. We have to fight to find the truth, so it is never repeated. 'It's not just about those who died. I know of a family who lost their son, and his sister now has heart problems from the shock. And there is Lara Hayek, who is still in a coma. No one thinks about Lara.'
Arab News
6 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Survivors carry scars, await accountability five years after Lebanon's Beirut port blast
BEIRUT: In a hospital room in the mountains of Mount Lebanon, 47-year-old Lara Hayek lies motionless. Five years after the catastrophic Beirut port explosion left her in a vegetative state, her mother Najwa maintains a daily vigil, clinging to hope that justice will finally arrive. 'Every single day, I wait for Lebanon's courts to prosecute those who perpetrated this crime against defenseless civilians,' Najwa told Arab News. The blast's impact on Lara was devastating. Shrapnel from the explosion penetrated her eye, causing severe brain hemorrhaging that led to cardiac arrest. Her frail body now depends entirely on medical intervention — breathing through a tracheostomy tube and receiving nutrition through a feeding tube inserted into her abdomen. 'Medically speaking, my daughter died that day,' her mother said. 'Emergency responders could not reach her quickly because every hospital was flooded with hundreds of casualties.' Lara had been unwinding on her couch after work, in an apartment mere blocks from the Foreign Ministry, when the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion — comparable in force to an earthquake — tore through Beirut. Her mother's late departure from work that day likely saved her life. The daily hospital visits have become Najwa's ritual of remembrance and protest. She speaks to her unresponsive daughter about her frustrations. 'I buried my husband just one year before Lara's accident. My son fled Lebanon. Now I am entirely alone, after they destroyed the daughter I sacrificed everything to raise.' She added: 'The government ignores her existence, refuses to cover her medical expenses — just like countless other victims forced to shoulder their own healthcare costs.' The tragedy extends beyond her immediate family — her sister's household, her brother-in-law's family, all bear scars from that Tuesday evening. • The Beirut port blast had a force equivalent to 1,000-1,500 tons of TNT, or 1.1 kilotons. • Felt over 200 km away in Cyprus, causing damage to buildings up to 10 km from the port. • It registered as a 3.3-magnitude earthquake, with shockwaves disrupting the ionosphere. Half a decade after the explosion sent tremors across Lebanon and into neighboring nations, the architects of this preventable catastrophe walk free. Judicial proceedings have implicated an extensive network of culpable parties — including former prime ministers, cabinet members, and high-ranking military, security, customs and judicial personnel. Their alleged crimes span from 'professional negligence' to 'possible premeditated murder.' The disaster unfolded during the evening commute on Aug. 4, 2020, at 5:15 p.m. local time, as residents traveled home or conducted routine business in offices and residences. A fire erupted in a port warehouse containing 2,750 tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, along with kerosene, oil, fireworks, and methanol — ignited during welding repairs on the facility's entrance. By 6:06 p.m., the blaze had escalated into a nuclear-scale detonation that obliterated sections of the capital, excavated a 40-meter underwater crater, and claimed over 220 lives instantaneously while leaving thousands more trapped, bleeding and dying across the metropolitan area. Lebanon mourned as a nation that tragic day, its anguish spanning the country's entire 10,452 square kilometers. The death toll continues its grim climb as comatose patients succumb to their injuries. Cecile Roukoz, legal counsel for families of victims and sister of deceased victim Joseph Roukoz, says the current tally stands at '245 fatalities and over 6,500 wounded.' Najwa's voice betrayed the exhaustion born of futile advocacy. 'We have screamed ourselves hoarse in street demonstrations, demanding accountability,' she said. 'Five years later, we have nothing to show for it.' She said many families have abandoned hope and emigrated. Those who remain cannot trust authorities who have absolved themselves of responsibility for the shedding of their citizens' blood. The international scope of the tragedy is reflected in its victims: 52 foreign nationals from France, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Iran, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Egypt and Bangladesh perished, alongside a Palestinian driver who suffered fatal cardiac arrest from the explosion's shockwave near Hotel-Dieu Hospital. This year, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government decided to commemorate the anniversary by declaring a 'national day of mourning, with flags flown at half-mast on official buildings, public administrations, and municipalities, and adjusting regular programming on radio and television stations to reflect the grief of the Lebanese people.' The anniversary is accompanied by religious services in Beirut and marches organized by activists to raise their voices for 'truth, accountability, and justice.' Banners were raised in neighborhoods that were destroyed and later rebuilt, with messages written on them such as 'We will not forget and we will not forgive' and 'Aug. 4 is not a memory; it is a crime without punishment.' Aside from that, the Lebanese people are still waiting for the indictment in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar to be issued. He had promised to issue it this year in order to hold 'every official and involved party accountable.' Bitar held his last interrogation session on Dec. 24, 2021, and his work was later obstructed by lawsuits for recusal and liability filed against him by officials facing accusations. The number of these lawsuits against Bitar reached 43, and the courts have yet to rule on them. Hezbollah led a campaign demanding Bitar's removal, plunging the judicial investigation into political entanglement and judicial chaos. The militant group and its ally, the Amal movement, rejected the prosecution of their affiliated ministers before the ordinary judiciary, insisting on the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers, which stems from Parliament. Bitar's conviction, according to a judicial source, is based on the belief that 'the crime committed is not political but criminal and led to the killing of hundreds, and he refuses to split the case between the ordinary judiciary and the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers and the High Judicial Council.' Bitar, whose investigation was forcibly frozen for 13 months, resumed his work at the beginning of this year following the election of Aoun and Salam, amid a shift in the political power balance in Lebanon after the decline of Hezbollah's influence domestically following its recent war with Israel. Aoun and Salam pledged in the inaugural address and the ministerial statement to work on establishing 'judicial independence, preventing interference in its work, and combating the culture of impunity.' Judge Jamal Hajjar, public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, annulled the decision of his predecessor, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, made more than two years ago, to halt all cooperation with Bitar. This was in response to Bitar's charges against Oueidat; Judge Ghassan Khoury, the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation; and several other judges in the explosion case. Before his retirement, Oueidat, in an unprecedented decision and clear challenge to Bitar and his procedures, released all 17 detainees in the port crime case, most of whom are port officials, employees and military personnel, arguing that Bitar was 'usurping the title of judicial investigator and abusing authority.' Hajjar decided to resume cooperation with Bitar and to receive all memos issued by him, including notices summoning defendants for interrogation sessions and preliminary defenses for legal review. On Jan. 16, Bitar resumed his judicial procedures by charging 10 officials, including seven officers from the Lebanese Army, General Security and Customs, and three civil employees, and later interrogated them. The past months of March and April witnessed an unprecedented surge in investigative sessions dedicated to questioning security and political leaders who had previously refused to appear before him. These included notably Hassan Diab, former prime minister; Nohad Machnouk, former interior minister; Jean Kahwaji, former army commander; Abbas Ibrahim, former General Security chief; former State Security director Gen. Tony Saliba; and Brigadier General Asaad Al-Tufayli, former Higher Council of Customs head. To date, the only two individuals who have not yet appeared before Bitar are Judge Oweidat and Ghazi Zeaiter, a former MP and minister affiliated with Amal. The judicial source told Arab News that the number of defendants in this case has reached 70. 'Judge Bitar has not informed the defendants of any decision regarding their fate, leaving the matter until the investigation is completed,' he said. 'He will overlook the failure of Oweidat and Zeaiter to appear before him for questioning and will proceed with the information already in his possession.' The source noted that Bitar considers all individuals who have been released by Judge Oweidat as still under arrest and travel bans, except for one defendant who holds US citizenship and has left Lebanon. A political source predicted that the indictment will be issued soon, as all the facts are now before Judge Bitar and he has political cover. 'There is no justification for delaying the issuance in the coming weeks,' he said. Roukoz, the legal counsel for families of victims, expressed optimism that the indictment would be issued soon. She told Arab News that she attends all interrogation sessions and believes that Judge Bitar has the integrity and determination needed to bring this investigation to a conclusion and issue the indictment, despite the despair of the victims' families and their loss of hope in justice. Roukoz said that the families have hope in the new administration's declared stance — that no corrupt individual or criminal is protected by anyone — will be translated into action. 'We believe that it is the state's duty to determine who destroyed the city. Dozens of families have emigrated from Lebanon following the explosion, and it is necessary to restore people's trust in their state and the sovereignty of the law.'
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Fox News
Any tie Bryan Kohberger has to 'Pappa Rodger' could become clear when gag order is lifted
The mysterious figure emerged in late 2022 in a Facebook group dedicated to the discussion of the Idaho student murders case — and vanished around the time of Kohberger's arrest on Dec. 30 of that year, prompting speculation that the account could have been linked to the killer. In the final weeks of 2022, the account emerged in a large Facebook group dedicated to seeking justice for the victims: University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Authorities have made no public comments or court filings linking Kohberger to the account. But with the gag order preventing most extrajudicial discussion of the case expected to end soon, authorities could finally address posts from the account — or the public could find out through unsealed search warrant returns, discovery disclosures, or digital forensics from Kohberger's devices. "At the very least, we might see warrant requests for social media accounts," said Joshua Ritter, a former Los Angeles prosecutor and host of "Courtroom Confidential." "Which would indicate they had the same suspicions." Previously released court records show authorities sought information from dozens of tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Meta, Facebook's parent company. The records they received remain unclear. Using a profile photo that appeared to show a man in an old-fashioned military uniform that some have suggested looks similar to Kohberger's actual appearance, the account was known for cryptic posts about specific evidence, including a reference to a knife sheath before police revealed they recovered one. Some observers — in Moscow and beyond — believe Kohberger was behind the account. Especially since no one has come forward and claimed responsibility in the three years he's been behind bars. But posts from the account have largely vanished. Screenshots taken before the account was taken down show Pappa Rodger predicted that the killer left behind a knife sheath as early as Nov. 30, 2022. Although a Ka-Bar knife had already been identified as a potential murder weapon and other people said they had already speculated about a sheath by then, it was the phrasing that set off alarm bells for one of the administrators. "He also didn't say 'a sheath' — he said 'the sheath,' which is really eerie," said Kristine Cameron, one of the people behind the "University of Idaho Murders - Case Discussion" group on Facebook. On Dec. 5, 8 and 21, the account posted diagrams of the King Road home that purported to show the locations of the bodies. However — based on statements from Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson made in court at Kohberger's plea hearing — the locations appear incorrect. He said Chapin had been killed in his sleep in Kernodle's room — not in the living room like Pappa Rodger asserted. "As the defendant was either coming down the stairs or leaving, he encountered Xana, and he ended up killing her, also with a large knife," Thompson told the court on July 1, 2025. "Ethan Chapin, Xana's boyfriend, was asleep in their bedroom — in her bedroom. And the defendant killed him as well." On Dec. 22, the account asserted that, "The killer is not in the victims (sic) immediate circle," and, "The killer is not a student." Kohberger was not friends with any of the victims and attended a different school nearby, Washington State University. On Jan. 5, 2023, Cameron told Fox News Digital Pappa Rodger's chats and posts had been "wiped from FB." "The night prior to Bryan getting arrested, Pappa Rodger was going back and forth with another member, calling the member names," she said at the time. "We had spoken to him numerous times about the way he was talking." She recalled the poster challenging other users to "fight me" and grading comments "like a professor." "His particular post that asked how long the killer was in the house caused all kinds of speculation, but he was adamant that the killer was in the house for 15 minutes," she added. Most people doubted four slayings could've been carried out in that span, she said, but it's close to what prosecutors would later allege in court documents. Then the posts stopped around the time of Kohberger's arrest, she said, and to this day she believes the killer could have been behind the account. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS TRUE CRIME HUB Kohberger himself did not respond to a question about the account from Fox News Digital for this story. "Until prosecutors or law enforcement come forward, I'm gonna go ahead and speculate that Pappa Rodger is Bryan Kohberger," said Lauren Conlin, a PopCrimeTV host who has been closely following the case. In a new book by crime fiction legend James Patterson and investigative journalist Vicky Ward, the authors compared Kohberger directly to Elliott Rodger, a mass murderer who killed six students near the University of California, Santa Barbara, and injured 14 other people in May 2014. "No one knows that, like Rodger, Bryan is a virgin who hates women," the book reads. "No one knows that Bryan copes with loneliness by immersing himself in video games. Like Rodger, he goes for night drives. Like Rodger, he visits the gun range. And, like Rodger, he goes to a local bar and tries to pick up women." Elliot Rodger, 22, wrote a 137-page manifesto airing his grievances as an "involuntary celibate," or incel, and social outcast. Kohberber, to the dismay of many members of the public and some victims' families, did not explain a motive for his crimes when he pleaded guilty on July 1, weeks before his trial would have kicked off. Some of Rodger's victims were members of their school's Greek life — as were all of Kohberger's. Rodger killed himself after the murder spree. Kohberger nearly got away with his. Authorities said they didn't even have his name until more than a month after the murders, after the FBI used investigative genetic genealogy techniques to come up with a new lead based on the single-source DNA sample taken from the Ka-Bar sheath. Eleven days later, they had Kohberger in handcuffs. The plea deal took the potential death penalty off the table. Kohberger is expected to receive four consecutive life prison sentences plus another 10 years at a formal sentencing hearing on July 23. As part of the deal, he waived his right to appeal or seek a sentence reduction. A hearing on whether the court should lift the gag order before sentencing is scheduled for Thursday.
