ISF agents in Beirut (Credit: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Archives)
In a move seen as part of a broader effort to silence critics of Hezbollah, Charles Chartouni — a university professor, writer, and political activist known for his outspoken criticism of the party — was summoned by State Security on Thursday in Jounieh. At the request of his lawyer, Mark Habka, the interrogation, which Chartouni did not attend, was rescheduled for Nov. 26, citing “family reasons.”
According to an informed source, the security service acted on the orders of Zaher Hamadeh, the public prosecutor at the Beirut Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, who is known to be close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
In recent days, Chartouni appeared in several media interviews, including on MTV (Nov. 15) and Transparency (Nov. 17), where he openly criticized the ‘axis of resistance’ and Hezbollah, predicting the eventual “defeat” of the party. In one of his appearances, he notably referred to Israel as a “state” rather than an “entity.”
Intimidation policy
Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, the academic stated that he was summoned “illegally,” noting that members of State Security had come to his home to deliver a summons that contained no “charges or accusations.” In addition to this “irregularity,” he expressed concern that he had initially been summoned to the State Security headquarters in Ramlet al-Baida, an area he deems “far from safe” due to his political beliefs.
“My summons is part of an intimidation policy," said Chartouni, highlighting "an attempt to suppress freedoms.” Following the announcement of his summons on Wednesday, the Lebanese Forces (LF) expressed their solidarity with him in a statement, calling for "the proceedings to be halted" and condemning the actions of State Security as “a violation of freedom of expression.” The LF also accused the ‘axis of resistance’ of threatening all Lebanese and called for the “arrest of those who use force as a means of blackmail.”
