Families of August 4 Victims Vow to Keep Demanding Accountability

The Families of August 4 Victims Association, during their monthly vigil in front of the Expatriate Statue, stated that those who obstruct the judiciary, block accountability, and seek refuge in influence or immunity, are not only violating the victims’ families but also infringing on every Lebanese citizen’s right to live in a state that protects its people.

In a statement, the association said that six years have passed with justice still captive. On August 4, it was not only the port that collapsed but also the Lebanese people's trust in their state, with innocent lives lost that deserved to live. Six years of promises, delays, procrastination, and pressure have gone by, while victims’ families continue to hold pictures of their loved ones instead of judicial rulings that would grant them justice. The truth remains confined as if the crime had no responsible parties, as if the blood of over two hundred martyrs, thousands of wounded, and countless grieving families could be forgotten.

The association emphasized that the port case is not only about bereaved families but a national issue testing the meaning of justice and the rule of law. It reiterated that those who hinder the judiciary and accountability, hiding behind influence or immunities, violate not only the victims’ families but also every Lebanese citizen’s right to live in a state that safeguards its people. The statement added that attempts have been made to exhaust them, silence their voices, and use time as a tool for forgetting. However, those who lost a son, daughter, father, or mother do not forget, do not compromise, and do not tire of demanding their rights.

They sent a clear message to anyone who believes time will erase this crime: time will not erase it, the truth will not be buried, and responsibilities will not be dismissed regardless of how long the wait. History shows no mercy, and although justice may be delayed, it remains the demand they will never abandon. Their sole anticipation is the judicial review enabling the investigating judge to issue a decision. They called on all officials to stop interfering with the judiciary and to empower it to fulfill its duties freely and independently, stressing that justice is not a political choice but a constitutional, human, and moral right. The association also urged the Lebanese people not to allow this case to become a fleeting news item or an annual remembrance. The port case concerns every Lebanese household because impunity threatens the nation’s present and future.

Addressing the martyrs, the association pledged that their names will not be reduced to numbers and their blood will not become mere memories. To the wounded and affected, they affirmed their resolve not to abandon or compromise this struggle, nor to allow forgetting to triumph over the truth.

The statement concluded by affirming that August 4 will remain a witness to the crime and that their voices will stay louder than all attempts at intimidation and silencing until full justice is achieved and every responsible individual is held accountable, regardless of their position or influence, because nations are built not on impunity but on rights and justice.