A new blow for freedom of expression in Lebanon. On Saturday, protesters taking part in a rally to denounce the repression of freedoms were violently attacked by homophobic bikers who had come to “impose moral values,” according to calls made to thwart the rally.
Three protesters who were trying to make their way to Riad el-Solh Square, where the rally was to take place, were injured, as the police, heavily deployed at the scene but timidly intervening, looked on. People filming the scenes of violence were also quick to make degrading comments about the protesters.
The bikers, who reportedly came from Tariq Jdideh and Khandaq el-Ghamiq, according to videos relayed on social networks, threatened the protesters with further attacks if they insisted on moving towards the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, as had been planned. The dozens of individuals gathered had come to call on the various State services, notably the public prosecutor’s offices, to respect the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as international conventions, the Lebanese Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Lebanon.
Encircled in Riad el-Solh Square, the demonstrators were eventually evacuated in army special forces trucks.
The attack on the gathering was denounced by the Progressive Socialist Party, which called on the security forces to “arrest the culprits and bring them to justice,” as well as to “preserve freedoms.”
