A few Beirut port blast victims to be compensated
A London-based company that delivered the ammonium nitrate that exploded in 2020 at Beirut’s port has been ordered to pay compensation to some families, according to the Beirut Bar Association.
Chemical trading firm Savaro Ltd was found liable four months ago after being suspected of chartering the shipment of the ammonium nitrate in 2013 that ended up in Beirut. In Lebanon, documents seemingly show a handful of senior political, judicial and security officials were aware of the chemicals in the port for years, but did not take decisive action to get rid of it.
When the hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, the incident killed nearly 220 people, injured over 6,000 others and caused billions of dollars of damage.
The ruling in London is an unusual judicial success for the victims’ families, members of whom have advocated for an unimpeded national investigation. Some opted to file lawsuits abroad, according to The Independent after Judge Tarek Bitar, who has been leading the investigation into the blast in Lebanon, work has been blocked (three former cabinet ministers filed legal challenges against him in 2021).
“After almost three years from the catastrophe, it’s the first time that there is a judicial decision regarding both liability and damages,” Camille Abousleiman, one of the lawyers involved in the British case, told The Associated Press. “This also comes at a time when the Lebanese investigation is blocked, perhaps permanently, so it gives a measure of comfort to the victims.”
The Independent says it remains unclear who the owner of Savaro Ltd. is. The listed owners are agents from a corporate services firm, investigative journalists from Lebanese and international outlets have reported. The High Court of Justice in June 2022 ordered the company to reveal its true owners, but the firm has not done so.
According to the prosecution office at the Beirut Bar Association, the British court ordered payment of £100,000 for each of three plaintiffs whose family members were killed in the blast because of the emotional damage that resulted from their deaths.
The court also ordered the payment of more than £500,000 for an injured plaintiff as compensation for emotional and physical damage and to cover medical expenses.
Multiple angles of the 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed 218 people and injured over 7,000 people. pic.twitter.com/KGLriDApUi
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) April 9, 2023
