Shiite Sheikh critical of Hezbollah questioned by General Security, days after detention at Beirut Airport

BEIRUT — Shiite Sheikh and professor Abbas Yazbek, a vocal critic of Hezbollah who was detained for several hours on Friday at Beirut airport, was questioned by General Security on Tuesday at the agency's headquarters in Beirut for following a Facebook group called Lebanese Citizens around the world, the Sheikh confirmed to L'Orient Today on Wednesday.

This group posts critical posts, mainly about Hezbollah and its allies. Yazbek told L'Orient Today that General Security tried to get more information from him during the questioning on Tuesday and "behaved appropriately", adding that the case has been closed.

On Friday, Yazbek was detained by General Security while he was planning to travel to France with his wife, and thus, missed his flight. He also had his identification papers and phone confiscated, which were returned to him on Tuesday.

Contacted by L'Orient Today, General Security declined to comment.

Following his detention on Friday, Yazbek had attributed the incident to “systematic political pressure” against Shiite opponents of Hezbollah.

According to him, he was also attacked around three years ago in the school where he teaches by a Hezbollah official in the Bekaa accompanied by armed men.

Criticisms of General Security's measures

The Yazbek's detention has drawn solidarity with him and criticisms of the General Security's measures. On Wednesday, Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea said in a statement, relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA): “After we had believed, with the start of the new presidential term and the formation of the new government, that the police-state practices of certain security agencies had become a thing of the past, we were once again surprised by the repeated issuance of wanted notices carried out by Lebanon’s General Security, without prior notice to those targeted."

In June, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on the “security services and armed forces” to “immediately [...] cancel all wanted notices and watch lists” issued without judicial decisions, i.e. “blacklists” of individuals that are not based on judicial decisions.

End of security 'blacklists' in Lebanon: One month later, where do we stand?

End of security 'blacklists' in Lebanon: One month later, where do we stand?

“How does the minister of interior, directly responsible for overseeing General Security, explain this agency’s continued practice of carrying out wanted notices, not for any clear legal reason, but rather for vindictive motives against well-known political figures opposed to the Resistance Axis?” Geagea asked. The LF leader finally called “the prime minister, along with the ministers of justice and interior, to conduct a transparent and immediate investigation to determine responsibility and put a final end, once and for all, to these recurring police-state practices.”

On Saturday, the Lebanese Shiite Gathering and the Lebanese Democrats’ Coalition also condemned the incident in a statement relayed by NNA. They described it as “a new episode in the systematic intimidation that Shiite opponents of Hezbollah face,” and called on Salam to “intervene immediately to stop this blatant violation,” urging the President of the Republic to “assume his constitutional responsibilities and ensure the protection of citizens from arbitrariness.”