Hani Haj Shehadeh
Senior Lebanese customs official
Criminally chargedHani Haj Shehadeh held a senior position within Lebanon's customs administration at the Port of Beirut. He and former customs director general Moussa Hazimeh were charged by state prosecutors within months of the August 2020 explosion, before any minister or central bank figure was charged.
هاني الحاج شحادة موظف جمركي كبير في مرفأ بيروت، وُجّهت إليه تهم رسمية في تشرين الثاني 2020 على خلفية طريقة تعامل الجمارك مع شحنة نيترات الأمونيوم التي انفجرت لاحقاً، وأصدر القاضي طارق بيطار لاحقاً مذكرة توقيف بحقه.
The charge
In November 2020, state prosecutor Ghassan Khoury charged Shehadeh and Hazimeh in connection with the port blast, bringing the total number of people charged in the case to 33 at that stage, of whom 25 were under arrest.
The charges relate to the customs administration's handling of the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been offloaded at the port in 2013 and left in a warehouse for roughly six years despite repeated internal warnings about the danger it posed.
Judge Tarek Bitar later issued an arrest warrant for Shehadeh after questioning him for several hours, as the investigation escalated against port and customs personnel identified as having had direct knowledge of, or responsibility for, the stored chemicals.
Current status
Shehadeh remains one of dozens of defendants in the port blast case, which Judge Bitar formally concluded in March 2026 with an indictment covering approximately 70 people. At the February 2025 review, the matter had not gone to trial and no conviction had been recorded against him.
Timeline
- 2013
Shipment arrives
Ammonium nitrate cargo is offloaded at the Port of Beirut and stored in a warehouse.
- Nov 2020
Charged
State prosecutor Ghassan Khoury charges Shehadeh and Hazimeh over the port blast.
- 2021
Arrest warrant
Judge Tarek Bitar issues an arrest warrant for Shehadeh after questioning him.
- Mar 2026
Investigation concluded
Bitar closes the broader inquiry and refers an indictment covering about 70 people to the prosecution.