We learned from Reuters today that “Lebanon deported a Reuters correspondent after questioning him on arrival at Beirut airport at the start of a reporting assignment last month, detaining him overnight before putting him on a flight to Jordan.”
This Reuters senior correspondent is Mr. Suleiman al-Khalidi from Jordan. Can you imagine? The Lebanese authorities “took him aside for questioning and asked him to surrender his company laptop computer and mobile phone“.
After Mr. al-Khalidi refused to hand his material, they transferred him to a deportation centre and sent him back to Jordan the next day (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-deported-reuters-journalist-after-questioning-2021-09-03/).
Reuters asked Lebanon to reverse the decision.
To conclude this post, it is worrisome to see the official Lebanon (i.e., with its powerful forces) treating reporters in this shocking manner. Sadly, such stories are becoming more frequent (Bambi has older posts on the topic). It is not surprising then to read that this tiny, bankrupt yet (always) beautiful country has been recently ranked “#107 out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index“. Sadly, the limitation on press freedom is also observed worldwide, not just in Lebanon (including Canada, mind you). However, the attack on press freedom/freedom of expression is acutely alarming in Lebanon.
