Former President Michel Aoun filed on Wednesday 16 September 2026 a criminal complaint after the publication of information indicating his possible involvement in the investigation into the explosion of the port of Beirut. He is represented in this process by his lawyer Wadih Akl.
The complaint comes the day after the dissemination of information attributed to an anonymous judicial source. According to the authorities, the prosecutor recommended to the investigating judge Tarek Bitar that the former Head of State be prosecuted in the case of the explosion of 4 August 2020.
At this stage, no decision to impeach Michel Aoun by Tarek Bitar was announced. The information disseminated relates to what the prosecutor allegedly asked the judge, who is responsible for the decision on the prosecution.
The complaint filed by Michel Aoun includes acts of insult, defamation, slander, false accusation, violation of the secrecy of the investigation and fabrication of false information.
Michel Aoun denounces « judicial leaks »
The former President contests the conditions under which the information concerning his possible defendant was made public.
» In blood-stained cases, a rumor is not just a passing word; It constitutes a new aggression against the victims and an attempt to assassinate the truth before it reaches the sanctuary of justice, » said Michel Aoun.
In particular, it refers to the information presented as « failure » related to the prosecution’s findings in the explosion investigation.
Michel Aoun develops two hypotheses. If the information published really corresponds to the content of the judicial document, their disclosure raises the question of a violation of the secrecy of the investigation. If they were incorrect, he considered that the issue of making and disseminating false information arose.
» If the leak is genuine, it raises suspicions of violation of the secrecy of the investigation; If it is false, it raises suspicions of making and spreading false news, » he says.
In both cases, the former President considers that this is an infringement of the proper functioning of justice.
He also denounces an attempt to distort the facts, to conceal the real perpetrators and to construct a media conviction outside the judicial process.
A possible challenge related to his knowledge of nitrate
The information giving rise to the complaint indicates that the prosecution had requested Tarek Bitar to prosecute Michel Aoun on account of the information he allegedly had before the explosion.
According to the anonymous judicial source behind these revelations, the former president was reportedly aware of the presence of ammonium nitrate in the port of Beirut and its dangerousness.
According to the same version, the prosecution would accuse him of failing to take the necessary measures to deal with this danger and of failing to bring the case before the Conseil Supérieur de Défense.
However, this is the content attributed to the findings of the prosecution by an anonymous source. The document itself was not made public and Tarek Bitar did not announce that he had retained these elements against Michel Aoun.
The distinction is decisive for the current state of the proceedings: the former President is the subject of information concerning thepossible challengenot a charge announced by the investigating judge.
More than 70 persons involved in the prosecution examination
The controversy ensued after Judge Bitar’s examination of the case by Prosecutor Mohammad Saab.
This work specifies the responsibilities of over 70 persons involved in the investigation. They include current and former politicians, military and security officials and public servants. Some had already been questioned by Tarek Bitar during the proceedings.
The Prosecutor’s Office examined the case after completing most of the investigations conducted by the judge.
Mohammad Saab handed over his examination on Tuesday, 15 September. It is in this context that the recommendation concerning Michel Aoun was made, according to the information attributed to the anonymous judicial source.
However, the transmission of the document to the judge does not terminate the proceedings.
The decision remains in Bitar’s hands
Tarek Bitar now has to examine the position of the prosecutor and decide on the legal action.
It is his responsibility to determine the charges against the various persons concerned. It may also carry out additional investigative acts before rendering its decisions.
The recommendation attributed to the prosecutor concerning Michel Aoun therefore does not automatically bind the judge.
The situation of the former President will remain legally open until Tarek Bitar pronounces.
The complaint filed on Wednesday also creates a new procedure around the information disseminated on the file. Michel Aoun now asks the court to take an interest in the conditions under which the elements relating to his possible defendant were made public.
The issue therefore concerns two separate procedures. The first remains Tarek Bitar’s investigation into the explosion of the port and the responsibilities of the persons concerned. The second concerns the « judicial leaks » denounced by Michel Aoun and their authenticity or, according to the hypothesis put forward in his complaint, possibly manufactured.
The former president thus does not contest a decision to lay charges against him, since no such decision has been announced. His complaint comes in response to the publication of information on a recommendation allegedly made by the prosecution and which Tarek Bitar has yet to consider.
