A publication on Facebook costs a prison sentence to a Lebanese journalist

Fida Itani was sentenced to prison in absentia after being accused of insulting Lebanese Foreign Minister and expatriate Gebran Bbadil.

The city of Baabda was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $ 6,600 for Itani.

Itani wrote in a publication on Facebook in 2017 in the criticism of the policy of some Lebanese officials, including Gibran Basil.

He also criticized the military operation carried out by the Lebanese army in the city of Arsal, which culminated in the badbadination of Syrians, expressing concern about the 39. Hezbollah's intervention in Syria to support Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Lawyers for the Lebanese presidency and Hezbollah lodged a complaint against Itani, which also received threats from elements close to Hezbollah.

After the verdict, Itani writes that the decision to incarcerate him is motivated by insults against President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bbadil

Itani n & rsquo; Is not an individual case. Some officials.

In January 2018, presenter Hisham Haddad was sentenced by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri for ridicule.

In March 2018, the owner of Lebanon Debate was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and paid 10 million Lebanese pounds after being accused of defaming the Director General of Customs.

In November 2017, programmer Marcel Ghanem was tried for obstruction of justice after rejecting two face-to-face charges for his program.