Journalist Rami Naim. Photo taken from his Instagram account.
Rami Naim, a journalist known for opposing Hezbollah, was assaulted in broad daylight on Tuesday in Beirut by about 20 armed men he claims are affiliated with Hezbollah. The incident occurred while he was with another person at Starbucks in Verdun. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Hezbollah denied any involvement in the assault.
"This is a clear attempt at murder in broad daylight in Verdun. My great crime is having a stance against Hezbollah. In Lebanon, having an opinion is a crime. We are heading not towards Wilayat al-Faqih — a Shiite Islamic doctrine that gives full religious and political power to a religious leader — but towards North Korea," Naïm said in a video posted on Instagram.
"I was savagely assaulted and beaten with a weapon. A gun was put to my head, and my friend was threatened with a gun to his stomach while bystanders watched. I was told, 'We will kill anyone who talks about Hezbollah,'" added Naïm, who runs the news site el-Siyasa.
In an interview with MTV on Tuesday evening, the journalist recounted being "surrounded by about 20 people" while talking on the phone outside the coffeeshop. "It is clear these men were affiliated with Hezbollah and armed. I doubt they will be arrested, but I am determined to take legal action," he added. "If they try to kill everyone who has a different opinion from that of Hezbollah, it's problematic," he asserted.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, a Hezbollah press office spokesperson said she was unaware of the incident and denied that the party would "resort to such methods." The Starbucks branch where the assault occurred could not be reached for comment. A source within the Internal Security Forces was also unavailable for comment on the matter.
Rami Naim and his friend were treated at Saint George Hospital in Achrafieh, where several journalists visited on Tuesday to show their support.
According to MTV, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati quickly responded to the incident and asked Justice Minister Henri Khoury to handle the case. Press Club Lebanon condemned the assault on Wednesday, calling on security services "to identify and prosecute the attackers," according to a statement from National News Agency. The club praised Mikati's response and emphasized "the need to respect press freedom and freedom of opinion."
Tripoli MP and Hezbollah opponent Ashraf Rifi denounced the attack as a "consecration of the law of the jungle and militia arms, which takes freedom of opinion hostage." In a tweet, he expressed solidarity with Naim and called for swift justice.
On April 13, Naim was briefly detained by the army after sparking controversy on a radio show where he denounced "double standards by law enforcement between those close to Hezbollah and their detractors" and called for "disobedience" against security services. "If law enforcement makes a mistake in the area where I am, we will shoot them and the Lebanese army," he had declared, before apologizing two days later for his remarks.
Several journalists opposed to Hezbollah have faced intimidation or assaults in recent years. In February 2021, Lebanese writer, publisher, and intellectual Lokman Slim, a fierce Hezbollah opponent, was found dead in southern Lebanon, but the justice system never proved Hezbollah's involvement in the murder. In August 2022, photojournalist Hassan Chaabane reported that a group of individuals — presumed Hezbollah supporters — assaulted him after he posted videos and messages on social media about a protest organized by residents of Beit Yahoun, southern Lebanon, against water shortages.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.