Beirut Port victims’ families denounce smear campaign against William Noun, warn of attempts to obstruct investigation

The Beirut Port blast victims’ families committee condemned what it described as “smear campaigns” against William Noun, a relative of one of the victims, after he was accused of crimes including “collaborating with the enemy” and “inciting sectarian strife.”

In a statement, the committee said these allegations were “fabricated by the same parties that had previously threatened and obstructed the investigation,” stressing that such claims “have nothing to do with reality and raise serious questions about their timing.”

The committee reaffirmed that the probe into “the largest explosion in history” must remain free of “politically motivated maneuvers by those seeking to silence victims’ families through intimidation and false charges.”

It also warned against “the dangerous implications of these actions,” noting that the judge overseeing the interrogation of Noun, Judge Sabouh Sleiman, was the same magistrate who had previously taken what the families called “unjustified measures” in the port case, including suspending an arrest warrant against former minister and defendant Youssef Fenianos.