"A Bulgarian court has rejected Lebanon's request to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a Russian-Cypriot shipowner wanted in connection with the 2020 Beirut port explosion, a hammer blow for the city that came during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic and amid a deepening economic crisis. Grechushkin, 48, is the former owner of the Rhosus, the ship allegedly carrying the ammonium nitrate that detonated at Beirut port on August 4, 2020."
"The blast killed at least 218 people, injured at least 6,500, and devastated large parts of Beirut, leaving tens of thousands homeless. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, generating a seismic event of 3.3 magnitude felt as far away as Syria, Israel and Cyprus. Grechushkin was detained in Bulgaria in September on an Interpol notice issued at Lebanon's request and has been held pending extradition proceedings."
"Ekaterina Dimitrova, Grechushkin's lawyer, told reporters that the Sofia City Court ruled Lebanon had not provided sufficient evidence to ensure that the death penalty will not be imposed on him or, if imposed, will not be carried out. The hearing was closed to the media. The ruling can be appealed within seven days at the Sofia Court of Appeal, whose decision will be final."
No senior figure has been held accountable since the devastating explosion more than five years ago. The explosion on August 4, 2020, killed at least 218 people, injured about 6,500, and left tens of thousands homeless while generating a 3.3-magnitude seismic event felt across the region. The blast followed years of unsafe storage of nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in a port warehouse. Grechushkin, the former owner of the Rhosus, was detained in Bulgaria on an Interpol notice but a Sofia court ruled Lebanon had not provided sufficient guarantees regarding the death penalty, a decision now subject to appeal.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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