Search warrant issued against journalist Ali Berro following his criticism of the presidency

The Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Jamal Hajjar, issued a search warrant against al-Manar correspondent Ali Berro, the state run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday, after Berro refused to appear before the public prosecutor’s office to be questioned over remarks deemed offensive toward the President of the Republic and the official presidential website.

NNA added that Judge Hajjar had not yet made a decision regarding the pro-Hezbollah journalist Hassan Illaik, who also refused to appear before the public prosecutor, pending the completion of the investigation report concerning his statements.

Last week, amid expressions of support for the presidency and denunciations of an attack on freedom of expression, controversy grew over the legal proceedings launched against Ali Berro and Hassan Illaik, who authored scathing criticism targeting President Joseph Aoun and the record of his first year in office.

The summons of Hassan Illaik stemmed from a video published on the YouTube channel al-Mahatta in which he directly attacked the president, saying: “You besiege your people and we remain silent. You prevent reconstruction and we remain silent. You carry out American orders and we remain silent…”

Ali Berro, for his part, published a video on Instagram filmed on the road leading to the Baabda Presidential Palace. In it, he provocatively called on residents of the South, whose homes were destroyed by Israeli bombardments, to “move into the Baabda Palace,” saying that it “needs a bit of cleaning.” “Your homes in the South are cleaner, but it will do,” he added.

Both journalists were reacting to the speech delivered last Tuesday by the head of state before the diplomatic corps and international representatives in Lebanon, marking the assessment of his first year in office.