On the day of the commemoration of Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination, the Raouche Rock is illuminated with the image of the former Hezbollah Secretary-General. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/OLJ)
Attorney General Jamal Hajjar has issued an arrest warrant against Al-Manar correspondent Ali Berro for refusing to appear for the third time in the investigation into the illumination of Raouche Rock and for insulting remarks he made against Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, reported the official National News Agency (NNA) on Saturday.
Berro’s lawyer appeared at the Raouche gendarmerie in the morning. He reiterated, as he had the previous day, that his client was a journalist and would not appear before the judicial police. It was therefore decided to take appropriate measures against him. “According to Article 28 of the press law, journalists in Lebanon do not appear before the investigating judge, but before the press tribunal. I therefore appointed a lawyer who appeared before the investigating judge under this article,” the defendant confirmed to L’Orient-Le Jour via phone on Friday. “After that, the attorney general informed the lawyer that I must appear again before the judicial police. The lawyer will return tomorrow [Saturday] to repeat the same statement,” Ali Berro added.
On Sep. 25, thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered on the Beirut waterfront to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the assassination of their leader Hassan Nasrallah by Israel. His portrait was projected onto the Raouche Rock despite a ban issued by Beirut governor Marwan Abboud. Wafic Safa, head of Hezbollah’s liaison unit and target of an Israeli assassination attempt on Oct. 10, 2024, attended the gathering.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the event on X as “a flagrant violation of the prohibition issued by the city governor.” “I contacted the ministers of Interior, Justice and Defense to take appropriate measures, including the arrest of those responsible and their referral to justice to be sanctioned according to the laws in force,” he added.
In defiance of official decisions, journalist Ali Berro posted a video from Raouche Rock during the commemoration in which he insulted Nawaf Salam. Wafic Safa, Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination head, appears beside him laughing. In the video, Berro says: “Nawaf, the hajj [Wafic] sends you his regards and says: We will light it up, Nawaf, and we’ll put you out.”
Commenting on the illuminated rock, Berro adds: “And there it is, Nawaf, we lit it up, despite you and despite your master Yazid,” referring to Saudi prince and Lebanese envoy Yazid bin Farhane. Three days earlier, Berro posted another video in front of the Serail: “Apparently you want to arrest me. I thought: he’s a man of a certain age, so I came myself… Apparently you are upset… so it’s only postponed,” he said.
Another person summoned Monday
Berro also posted videos asserting his refusal to appear before the judge the first and second time.
Additionally, one of the individuals who brought the laser used to illuminate the rock was interrogated and placed in pretrial detention by Judge Hajjar, according to NNA. The official in charge of the interrogation also mentioned the name of another person who will be summoned for questioning next Monday.
Request to dissolve organizing association
In this context, Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced on Friday that he had requested the dissolution of the “Lebanese Association for the Arts – Rissalat,” which organized the event at Raouche. The association had only received authorization for a commemorative gathering, without projection of images.
In a statement cited by local media, Hajjar announced the revocation of the association’s license, accusing it of violating the Beirut governor’s decision dated September 24, as well as commitments made when requesting authorization. The ministry also accused it of “damaging public property and using it for purposes contrary to public order.” The request for dissolution is scheduled to be reviewed at the Council of Ministers on Monday at the Baabda Presidential Palace, according to the statement.
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