Amal Movement released a statement calling on the dismissal of Beirut Blast Investigative Judge Tarek Bitar, the National News Agency reported Monday.
The group condemned “the crimes committed by armed gangs last Thursday against innocent unarmed demonstrators who were expressing their legitimate political rights and suspicions of Judge Bitar’s performance,” the statement said.
Amal stressed that the clashes were an attempt to revive the internal sedition and national divisions that occurred during the Civil War, and they are refusing to get drawn into it.
They continued to say that Judge Bitar is “igniting the wicks of tension“ in the country and called for his removal.
During his tenure as Investigative Judge over the Beirut Blast that killed over 230 people, Bitar has not made a public appearance on the news, issued any statements, or responded to the accusations of bias charged against him.
Instead, political parties and their ministers, such as Hezbollah and Amal, called on his removal, accused him of politicizing the investigation, submitted requests to dismiss him, and refused to show up to scheduled interrogations.