“There Is a Price to Pay”

Summary “This free speech that we enjoyed for a while is over, and we are now back to the pre-2005 era. Only, instead of the Syrian army, we have the Lebanese state.” Hanin Ghaddar, Lebanese journalist. In recent years, Lebanon’s criminal defamation laws have been used against journalists, activists, and other citizens who have written about corruption by public officials, reported misconduct by security agencies, criticized the current political and economic situation, or exposed abuse against vulnerable populations. Although Lebanon is perceived to be one of the Arab world’s freest countries,…

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