Protesters block the road in front of the State Security barracks in Ramlet al-Baida, Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Credit: Joao Soussa/OLJ)
Dozens of demonstrators on Saturday blocked the roads in front of the State Security barracks in Ramlet al-Baida, Beirut, in both directions, demanding the release of William Noun, brother of a firefighter killed in Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion.
According to L'Orient-Le Jour's reporter at site of the protest, some motorists tried to force their way through the crowd, while activists and relatives of the explosion's victims blocked the road with barricades.
The protesters gathered in front of the State Security's headquarters early Saturday. Several Forces of Change MPs were present at the demonstration, including Najat Saliba, Mark Daou, Waddah Sadek, Melhem Khalaf, as well as MP Michel Moawad, who is also an official presidential candidate.
William Noun has been detained since Friday in relation to two separate cases. Noun told L'Orient Today that one is connected to a violent demonstration on Tuesday in front of Beirut Justice Palace. State Security later summoned Noun for threats he made against the judiciary during a TV talk show on Thursday night, the state-run National News Agency reported.
On Friday night, in addition to a sit-in in Beirut, demonstrators blocked the highway in Jbeil, north of Beirut, the region from which Noun and several of the firefighters killed in the Aug.4, 2020 explosion are from.
Additional reporting by Lyana Alameddine