Youssef Diab, veteran journalist and member of the “Media for Freedom” administrative body, said on Monday that he is placing the campaign of intimidation and threats that he has been subjected to by Hezbollah’s electronic army “in the hands of the Lebanese judiciary.”
In a statement, Diab described the campaign “calling for personal and physical harm on his person as unprecedented.” The wrath was unleashed on him following comments he made on Sky News Arabia about The Telegraph’s report alleging that Hezbollah is storing missiles in Beirut airport.
Asserting his patriotism and hostility to Israel, he emphasized his right as a citizen and journalist to “warn of the danger of the suspicious Telegraph report in its timing and content and that Israel could exploit these allegations and take them as an excuse to target Rafik Hariri International Airport.”
He reiterated his “clear political position in rejecting attempts to turn Lebanon alone, without the rest of the Arab and Islamic countries, into a front supporting Gaza and involving it in a war whose consequences and results the Lebanese will not bear.”
Diab, who is known for his competence, commitment and objectivity, previously stated that Hezbollah controls the roads leading to the airport, consequently dominating the airport, which makes it a target for Israeli shelling in case of escalation.
Last week, journalist Rami Naim was physically assaulted for criticizing Hezbollah. Naim’s attackers weren’t arrested and the party denied its connection with the incident.
