Former Prime Minister Hassan Diab, pictured here, had sued the state for “grave errors" in relation to the port blast probe. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)
BEIRUT — The General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, headed by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Suhail Abboud, rejected the two lawsuits submitted by former Prime Minister Hassan Diab and former MP Nohad Machnouk to sue the state for “grave errors,” following legal actions taken by Beirut port explosion probe's lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar against them.
Here is what we know:
• The court ordered Diab and Machnouk to pay LL1 million each to the Lebanese state in “compensation for damages,” the NNA reports.
• The commission also rejected a lawsuit against the state submitted by MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, ordering each of them to also pay LL1 million in compensation to the state.
• In addition, the court determined that the first chamber of the Court of Cassation headed by Judge Naji Eid is the only one authorized to respond to cases submitted against the judicial investigator Tarek Bitar, the NNA reports.
• For its part, the Criminal Court of Cassation, headed by Judge Randa Kfoury, rejected the lawsuit filed by former Minister Youssef Fenianos, in which he requested that the file of the Beirut port explosion be transferred from the custody of Bitar due to “legitimate suspicion.”