Busying itself with trivial matters, Lebanese state security continues to crack down on civilians for expressing their opinions on social media.
This time, Lebanese stand-up comedian and activist Shaden Fakih has been summoned by the Cybercrime Bureau of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) to appear for questioning on Friday at 10 am at the Joseph Daher Police Station on Camil Chamoun Street in Beirut.
Fakih, known for posting political comedy and satire, said she was not informed of the reason why she was summoned nor who made the complaint against her.
She rhetorically wondered, “Am I negotiating with [the enemy] Israel and giving them 30% of our territorial waters? No. Did I explode the Beirut port? No. Am I smuggling Captagon? Did I steal people’s money? No. What did you do, Shaden? You wrote a post on Facebook!” she laughed.
The things she listed are all major issues Lebanese authorities have yet to solve.
She described the government as a police state and went on to stand her ground that she will no accept signing any agreement that would make her promise to stop posting political criticism on social media.
“I will not remove a post, not even a single letter. I’m convinced in everything I write and I will continue to speak my opinion freely no matter what you do,” she asserted.
Fakih has gained the support of the people of the Revolution for being outspoken against corruption and social issues, as well as her open criticism of Hezbollah.
There is now a call for protesters to gather outside the Joseph Daher Police Station on Camil Chamoun Street in Beirut to stand in solidarity for Fakih.
In a similar stand for freedom of expression this week, one of Lebanon’s most loved pop singers, Nawal Al-Zoghbi, resigned from the Artists’ Syndicate after the head of the syndicate asked artists not to criticize politicians.
