Legal action launched over campaign targeting Patriarch Rai; singer and activist close to Hezbollah charged

BEIRUT — Beirut Court of Appeal Prosecutor General Raja Hamoush on Thursday brought charges of "incitement to sectarian strife" against singer Ali Barakat and activist Alaa Abou Jabal, both close to Hezbollah, following the publication and online circulation of images deemed offensive toward Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai.

The two men, who are currently fugitives and subject to arrest warrants issued by Court of Cassation Prosecutor General Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, are suspected of producing and disseminating images of the patriarch in which his face was replaced with a shoe resembling those worn by Hezbollah fighters, a pig, and a character inspired by the mobile game Angry Birds. Another montage showed him smiling alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The content circulated across several accounts, some reportedly based in southern Lebanon, while others appeared to be fake or automated profiles.

The proceedings were initiated under Article 317 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which criminalizes "any act, writing or speech intended or having the effect of stirring sectarian or racial tensions, or inciting conflict among communities and the different components of the nation, is punishable by one to three years in prison and a fine." According to information obtained from a judicial source familiar with the procedure, Judge Hamoush referred the file to Beirut's single criminal court.

The smear campaign against Patriarch Rai followed an LBCI broadcast of a caricature video inspired by Angry Birds, depicting Hezbollah fighters as birds and Israelis as pigs. Although a complaint was also filed against LBCI, Prosecutor General al-Hajj dropped that part of the case, ruling that it fell within the scope of protected caricature and freedom of expression and did not amount to a criminal offense. The channel nevertheless removed the video at the request of the prosecutor general.