In February 2021, Judge Bitar's predecessor as the lead judge was removed from the case after he had charged high-level politicians.
The victims' families have appealed to the international community to set up an independent investigation of the port disaster under the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Many hold the view that elections are the last play at power, which may be the catalyst for a new independent government.
These tragedies in Lebanon today are the most recent symptoms of a national emergency rooted in the culture of corruption in all facets of government.
People in Lebanon are doubly frustrated over a political elite that has failed to investigate the Beirut port disaster and stop a devastating economic crisis.
The domestic investigation has yet to determine what triggered the blast, where the chemicals originated from or why they were left unattended for six years.
Lebanon needs financial support from the Arab world, particularly the rich Gulf states, but its continuous political instability has become a hindrance in the way of a bailout.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in a visit to Lebanon threatened unspecified measures against officials obstructing the formation of a government in the crisis-hit country.
Protesters block streets with burning tyres and dumpsters following the currency fall that traded at nearly 10,000 pounds to US dollar in black market.
Lebanon's outgoing premier Hassan Diab became one of the first politicians to be indicted along with three ex-ministers over the devastating August 4 blast that killed more than 200 people.
France has been quick to back former PM Saad al Hariri's proposal of an "independent" Shia candidate being given the finance portfolio to end a deadlock between two main Shia parties over ministers.
According to UN Women, even before the blast, Lebanon had one of the world's lowest rates of women in the workforce, with less than one in three in paid employment.
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