Judge probing Beirut blast calls for arrest of powerful suspect

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Lebanese army walk near the damaged grain silo during a joint effort with the French military to clear the rubble from port of Beirut following the explosion, as part of a tour organized for media and journalists in Beirut, Lebanon August 26, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion asked security forces on Friday to implement an arrest warrant he issued two months ago for a powerful former minister charged over the blast.

Judge Tarek Bitar asked security forces, via the public prosecutors office, to implement the warrant against former finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil, else security forces themselves be prosecuted for defying judicial orders, a senior judicial source told Reuters.