Relatives of the victims of the Beirut port explosion threatened to escalate their movements, expressing support to the judicial investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, and denouncing “attempts by the authority to manipulate the law.” They also warned they would demand an international investigation if stalling in the file persisted. The relatives of the victims of the explosion that rocked the Beirut port on Aug. 4 2020, held a protest on Monday, closing the roads and entrances to the Palace of Justice in the capital and raising banners slamming the “corrupt political authority and state officials.” They called for supporting Bitar, who they said was “entrusted with revealing the facts and punishing the perpetrators regardless of the party or side they belong to.” The protest saw speeches by relatives and activists, who demanded the appointment of members to the Court of Cassation to move forward with the file, threatening to escalate their measures and to call for an international investigation if their demands were not met. The massive explosion at Beirut’s port was caused by a stockpile of improperly stored ammonium nitrates, which killed at least 216 people and destroyed several residential areas.