BEIRUT: A Lebanese military court handed down a six-month prison sentence to a journalist for presenting views critical of the army, a court official told AFP said Thursday.
Hanin Ghaddar, also a researcher known for her criticism of the powerful Hezbollah movement, was sentenced in absentia on Jan. 10 over an expose at a conference in the US, the source said.
Her sentence sparked outrage among fellow journalists and academics in Lebanon, where they said free speech and freedom of the press were once again being challenged.
The court official said the ruling found Ghaddar, a US resident, guilty of “defaming the Lebanese army, harming its reputation and accusing it of distinguishing between Lebanese citizens.”
During a conference session in Washington in 2014, a recording of which is available online, she described the situation in Lebanon as “Sunnis being clamped down by Hezbollah and the Lebanese army versus Hezbollah militia being the untouchables.”
Hezbollah is a Shiite organization backed by Iran which is represented in the Lebanese government and has a militia often considered more powerful than the national army itself.
The military courts in Lebanon have a very broad jurisdiction over civilians and rights groups have voiced concern that could be used as a tool for intimidation against free speech and activism.
— AFP
Lebanon court orders six-month jail term for journalist
Lebanon court orders six-month jail term for journalist
Pakistan PM reaffirms solidarity with Saudi Crown Prince after Yemen port strike
- Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment in Yemen’s port city of Mukalla amid regional tensions
- Sharif emphasizes the need to maintain unity and harmony among Muslim states during the phone call
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “complete solidarity” with Saudi Arabia during a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday, a day after Riyadh bombed a weapons shipment from the United Arab Emirates in Yemen that it said was intended for separatist forces.
The conversation came a day after Sharif met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Rahim Yar Khan, a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, where the Emirati ruler made a private stay following an official visit to Islamabad last weekend.
Pakistan maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with the two Gulf states playing a key role in supporting its fragile economy.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this evening,” the PM Office said in a statement circulated in Islamabad.
It said the two leaders “discussed and exchanged views on the regional situation and current developments.”
“The Prime Minister emphasized upon the need to maintain unity and harmony among the ranks of the Ummah, in the midst of various current challenges,” the statement added. “While expressing Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the Kingdom, the Prime Minister said that it was imperative to maintain regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy.”
The Saudi bombing of the UAE shipment in Yemen’s southern port city of Mukalla came after heightened tensions linked to advances by the Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry earlier on Wednesday also expressed concern over renewed violence in Yemen, warning that unilateral actions by any Yemeni party could further escalate the conflict and destabilize the region.
In a statement, the ministry reaffirmed Islamabad’s support for the Kingdom’s security as well as Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity, and welcomed regional efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation and restoring peace and stability.
Saudi Arabia is a leading supplier of oil to Pakistan and has extended billions of dollars in loans in recent years to help the South Asian nation avert default on foreign debt and manage an economic crisis.
The two countries also signed a mutual defense agreement last September that defines an attack on either country as an attack on both.
With input from AP
