Beirut port investigator renews summonses of ex-ministers

A judicial official says the judge leading Lebanon’s probe into last year’s massive port explosion has renewed his summonses of two former ministers for questioning

BEIRUT -- The judge leading Lebanon’s probe into last year’s massive port explosion renewed on Tuesday his summonses of two former ministers for questioning, a judicial official said.

The decision by Judge Tarek Bitar came despite intense criticism from the country’s powerful Hezbollah group of the direction of the long-running investigation.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has accused Bitar of politicizing the probe and singling out some officials and not others. He has called on the government to remove Bitar.

Bitar has been in the post since February, after his predecessor was removed by a court decision following legal challenges from senior government officials who were also summoned.