Beirut - (AFP) - The General Directorate of State Security released on Saturday afternoon William Noun, one of the most prominent spokesmen for the families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, the day after he was detained because of statements he made, in a move that sparked widespread indignation after the investigation was suspended more than a year ago.

His release came after an open sit-in carried out by dozens of families of the victims of the explosion, with the participation of deputies and activists, in front of the directorate’s headquarters in Beirut, at a time when investigations are still pending since the end of 2021, as a result of political interference and lawsuits filed successively by defendants, including current deputies and former ministers, to stop the hand of the judicial investigator, Judge Tariq. farrier.

In a brief speech after his release, William, who lost his brother from the fire brigade in the port explosion on August 4, 2020, told reporters, "We are the children of the August 4 case, and we have no personal matter against anyone." "We only want truth and justice," he added, pledging to continue the struggle to complete the investigation.

Noun's attorney, Ralph Tannous, told reporters that the latter "signed a pledge not to throw stones at the Palace of Justice and not to insult the judges."

William, who is known for his sharp tongue and sharp criticism of obstructing the investigation and spearheads all the protest movements of the families of the victims, participated in a sit-in on Tuesday in front of the Palace of Justice, calling for the re-launch of investigations into the port explosion case. He appeared on television throwing stones at the windows of several offices of the Palace of Justice.

Al-Khamis was among the families who organized a sit-in in front of the Palace of Justice, to protest against the attempt to appoint a substitute judge in place of Bitar. He said in several statements during the sit-in and on television that they might "break" or "blow up" the Palace of Justice, if that happened.

Noun, along with more than ten people from the families of the victims, was informed Thursday that they were summoned for interrogation on Monday morning at the Internal Security Forces, before he was summoned by the State Security Apparatus on Friday and then arrested based on a signal from Judge Zaher Hamadeh.

Before being informed of his release, Zina Noun, William's mother, said after she spent the night inside the State Security headquarters, "What did William do? He demands that whoever killed his brother be held accountable? William is not a terrorist."

The Noun family lost their son, Joe, one of the ten members of the fire brigade who rushed to the port to extinguish a fire that preceded the horrific explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020, which claimed more than 215 lives and injured more than 6,500 people, in addition to widespread destruction in the port and a number of Capital neighborhoods.

Dozens of activists and families of the victims participated in the sit-in in front of the headquarters of the State Security Agency in the Ramlet al-Baida area, according to AFP photographers. They were joined successively by a number of deputies and lawyers who denounced Noun's "arbitrary" arrest on the basis of his statements, while the defendants in the explosion refuse to attend their interrogation sessions and obstruct the work of the judicial investigator.

"The balance of justice is disrupted and the weak are oppressed," MP Melhem Khalaf, the former head of the Beirut Bar Association, told AFP, adding, "I wish they would implement with the same enthusiasm all the warrants issued by the judicial investigator in the port crime."

The investigation has been pending for more than a year in the explosion, which, according to the authorities, resulted from the storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate inside the port without precautionary measures, following the outbreak of a fire whose causes are unknown. It turned out later that officials at several levels were aware of the dangers of storing the substance and did not move a finger.

About five months after receiving the file, following the resignation of a former judge due to political pressure, Judge Bitar announced his intention to interrogate political officials, including a former prime minister and defendants, who asked parliament to lift their immunity. He also requested permission to pursue security officials, including the director of the State Security Agency, Tony Saliba, and claimed former military officials.

However, he collided with political interference that prevented the completion of his work, with major forces, most notably Hezbollah, the most prominent political and military player in Lebanon , objecting to his work and accusing him of “politicizing” the file, leading to a demand for his stepping down.

"The arrest of William Noun clearly shows that the Lebanese judiciary cares more about protecting those in power and those responsible for the Beirut port explosion than protecting the public interest," Aya Majzoub, Deputy Regional Director of Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa, tweeted on Saturday.

"Our judicial system is not independent. It is a tool of the political class," she added.

Suspension of the investigation and repeated political interventions in a country where a culture of impunity prevails fuels the anger of the victims' families and human rights organizations calling on the United Nations to send an independent fact-finding mission, in the face of the faltering of the local investigation.

On the 23rd of this month, a French investigative judge visited Beirut to inquire about information requested by the French judiciary about the Beirut port explosion, and he did not receive answers about it, according to what a judicial official told AFP on Wednesday.

Rita Hatti, who lost her son, son-in-law and relative, and the three members of the fire brigade, told AFP during the sit-in, "Today's judiciary is facing the final exam (...) either it will rise up and say its word without any political pressure, or it will be the end of it."