A Lebanese journalist and academic has been sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for comments she made about the country's army.
Hanin Ghaddar's remarks came at a panel discussion in Washington in May 2014 entitled “Syria and Its Repercussions”.
She was convicted by a military court for “attacking the Lebanese army”. Local media said the comments in question concerned the army “involving itself in sectarian conflicts”.
During the discussion, Ms Ghaddar said of the Lebanese Army: “This is creating injustice, and this injustice is not going to end well, the Sunnis are being clamped down on by Hizbollah and the Lebanese army."
Ms Ghaddar, 43, currently lives in the United States, and works as a visiting fellow at think tank The Washington Institute.
Hizbollah is not an official part of the country’s armed forces, though the Iranian backed group has thousands of militiamen at its disposal and is widely seen as better resourced and more influential than Lebanese soldiers.
During the panel, she also referred to Hizbollah's fighters in Syria as "thugs", comments that proved controversial at the time. Though she was not sentenced for comments relating to Hizbollah, those specific remarks provoked outrage in some Lebanese circles, and she was slammed by several local news outlets, including Hizbollah aligned daily newspaper Al Akhbar.
Colleagues and commentators took to Twitter to express solidarity with Ms Ghaddar, and to voice concern over the decline of freedom of expression in Lebanon. Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute tweeted: "The entire @WashInstitute family - and, I believe, all fair-minded people - stand w/@haningdr in denouncing this outrageous verdict and what passes for 'justice' in #Lebanon today."
Albin Szakola, a former colleague of Ms Ghaddar’s, tweeted: "Will any of Lebanon's politicians criticize unjust sentence against @haningdr? Or are the pathetic remnants of March 14 too busy scheming for a piece of the pie in a region where Hezbollah saved Assad's grip on power."
The sentence comes amid a wider decline in freedom of expression in Lebanon. Earlier this week Steven Spielberg's latest film The Post was briefly banned by Lebanese censors, on account of the director's film on the Holocaust, Schindler's List. The decision was later overturned following international controversy.
When contacted by The National Ms Ghaddar declined to comment on the grounds that an appeal was in process.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Sunday's Super Four matches
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3.
4.
5.
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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on
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