The Justice Palace building in Beirut. (Credit: P.H.B./L'Orient Le-Jour)
Christiane Gemayel, founder and owner of the Lebtalks news website, did not attend a scheduled hearing on Monday with the cybercrime office. The summons followed a complaint filed by lawyers from Amoualouna Lana ("Our money is ours" in Arabic), an association advocating for depositors' rights.
The complaint stems from a June 7 article by Gemayel, in which she criticized "illegal practices and measures not in keeping with the legal profession." In her piece, the journalist named lawyers who allegedly "exploit legal files linked to depositors to obtain amounts of up to 30% of the value of the funds these depositors are seeking to recover."
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Gemayel defended her article, saying she is "convinced" of its accuracy. "I may have gone a little too far in telling the truth," she admitted. Conversely, Me Maya Geara, one of the complainants, argued that Gemayel's claims were entirely unfounded.
Disputes over Jurisdiction
Gemayel contends that the cybercrime office lacks the authority to summon her. "I am committed to the law that protects journalists by prohibiting actions against them by any security service," she said in a statement on Monday — justifying her decision not to attend the hearing.
Her lawyer, Michel Fallah, appeared before the Anti-Cybercrime Bureau, citing articles 28 and 29 of the Print Law, which restrict the examination of appeals against journalists to print courts and investigating judges.
Christiane Gemayel, owner of Lebtalks. (Credit: Photo from Facebook)
According to our information, the complaint against Mrs. Gemayel, in which she is accused of "parasiting and misleading public opinion", had been submitted to the Mount Lebanon Appeal Prosecutor's Office, which referred it to the security body. "It's not up to us to decide which body will look into the case", says Me Geara, preferring an investigation by a judge "in the presence of both parties to the dispute", rather than by a security service that conducts interrogations in the absence of the complainants.
The complaint against Gemayel, accusing her of "misleading public opinion," was initially filed with the Mount Lebanon Appeal Prosecutor's Office and then referred to the cybercrime unit. "It's not up to us to decide which body will look into the case," said Me Geara, expressing a preference for the case to be handled by a judge "with both parties present" rather than by a security service conducting interrogations without the complainants.
Other journalists summoned
A legal source told L'Orient-Le Jour that the Public Prosecutor's Office often forwards complaints to relevant departments for further investigation. The cybercrime office is expected to send Gemayel's case to the Public Prosecutor's Office based on documents proving her status as a journalist, which were presented by her lawyer on Monday.
The same source indicated that the cybercrime office is expected to refer complaints against four other news websites — Houna Loubnan (Here's Lebanon" in Arabic), Lebanon Debate, Assyassa (Politics in Arabic), and Assas Media — to the Public Prosecutor's Office. Representatives from these media outlets have indicated they will not comply with the summons, with Assyassa’s head, Rami Naim, stating he would not attend the scheduled hearing, questioning the cybercrime office's competency to investigate journalists.
Gemayel's case has garnered support from various quarters, including Joseph Kossaifi, president of the editors' association, and Information Minister Ziad Makari, both asserting that such complaints should be handled by print courts. Several NGOs, including Reporters Without Borders, Journalists for Freedom, and the Alternative Journalism Association, have also voiced solidarity with Gemayel.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.