In yet another case of repression of freedom of expression, Mariam Majdoline Lahham, editor-in-chief of the online news website al-Taharri, was released on Wednesday evening after being held for several hours for questioning over a tweet she posted on her X account.
Lahham was summoned by the Central Criminal Investigation Department on the instructions of the Advocate General at the Court of Cassation, Ghassan Khoury, following a complaint lodged against her by the President of the Sunni High Court, Judge Mohammad Ahmad Assaf. The latter accused the journalist of “defamation” and inciting “members of the Sunni community against him,” deeming “that she usurped the title of journalist.”
In the controversial post, Lahham accused Judge Assaf of profiting from a case. She charged that Assaf had benefited from a “40% reduction on the university fees of his children enrolled at the Arab university which falls under the wakf al-Barr wal-Ihsan, while he was handling the case involving al wakf, in his capacity as president of the Sunni High Court.” She wrote, “This constitutes a violation of the law due to the conflict of interest, as well as a departure from the obligation of impartiality imposed on judges.”
During the questioning, Judge Khoury demanded that Lahham “delete her post to free her,” which she refused to do. Simultaneously with the interrogation, the journalist’s house was searched on the instructions of Judge Khoury, in the absence of her lawyer Diala Chéhadé, according to the Megaphone website. “Her computer was seized and the unit that carried out the search claimed to have found traces of drugs,” according to Megaphone. Lahham was then transferred to Barbar Khazen barracks, where she underwent further questioning.
Lahham’s arrest was denounced by Joseph Kosseifi, President of the Order of Editors, who pointed out that “the imprisonment and preventive detention of journalists was cancelled in 1994, following the amendments introduced to the prints law.”
“Journalists are not criminals and their rights are guaranteed by the laws in force,” he said, stressing that “freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution.”
Journalists for Freedom, the Press Club and the Gathering of the Alternative Press Union sounded a similar note, stating in a press release that Lahham’s arrest was “illegal.” They called on journalists to “take action to strengthen the protection of the press people.”
