Kuwaiti journalist Fajr al-Said. (Photo Twitter/@AlsaeedFajer)
BEIRUT — Former General Security Abbas Ibrahim said in a statement Thursday evening he was behind a widely criticized decision to deport Kuwaiti journalist Fajr al-Said upon her arrival at Beirut International Airport this week.
Known for her views against Hezbollah and in favor of normalization with Israel, the journalist was arrested on Wednesday at the airport. Said claimed in a video she had been notified by General Security of a "permanent ban" on entering Lebanon, and that believes this measure was linked to her political opinions.
In a statement issued by his press office, Ibrahim, who retired last March, said that "the decision taken earlier [to ban the journalist from Lebanon] is in accordance with the law; General Security obeys the law, otherwise it would not have arrested Said, even after General Ibrahim's retirement."
"This is a procedure applied at every airport in the world for legal reasons. If there are any objections, Said's lawyer can contact the concerned institution," the statement continued.
The former General Security chief also denounced "those who defend Kuwait in a relentless manner, as if the deportation of a citizen of any country under Lebanese law were an insult to a country, a people or the person concerned."
He went on to accuse the people to whom he was referring, without naming them, of "showing allegiance" with Kuwait.
Reacting to the deportation of the Kuwaiti journalist, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday criticized what he said was a procedure "carried out in a police manner and without any legal basis."
"This is an attack on Lebanon's values and its relations with Arab countries. Kuwait has always been a friend of Lebanon," he said.
Geagea added that the journalist was refused entry "because of her clear and transparent stance on the Mumanaa [pro-Iranian] axis." "The question is: has Lebanon turned into a second North Korea?" he asked, calling on the authorities to intervene.
The Progressive Socialist Party also reacted on Thursday in a statement, saying it was "astonished that the Kuwaiti journalist was arrested and questioned solely because of her political opinions."
A ‘political’ case
In a video shot on Wednesday, while she was waiting at the Beirut airport to be sent back to her country, Said recounted that she was held for more than five hours by General Security without internet access to contact her relatives.
Finally, she said, a General Security employee helped her get online to buy a return ticket. The journalist, who returned to Kuwait on Thursday morning, added that Kuwaiti diplomatic employees in Lebanon went to the airport to assist her.
Said later asserted on Twitter that her deportation was a "clear message".
"You know the conditions in which Lebanon finds itself, and you know who is responsible for decisions here. This case is eminently political ... maybe some people are bothered by my political opinions," she wrote. "Do those who prevent me from entering Lebanon think they can prevent my voice from being heard by the Lebanese?"
