The Lebanese authorities decision to censor a cartoon depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a weekly French magazine has been raising questions in Lebanon.
A cartoon that was originally published in the Paris-based newspaper “Courrier International”, was replaced with stickers at the Directorate of General Security’s request before allowing the newspaper to enter Lebanon.
The move has outraged Lebanese who went to defend their laws on freedom of speech and media, as Lebanon is almost the only country in the Middle East with laws that actually do protect the individual’s right to freedom of speech.
Officials had also jumped on the story, with some justifying the censorship by defending the Lebanese-Iranian relations that might be affected by such offensive cartoons.
Others accused the authorities of being affiliated with Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, and the censorship came amid fears of upsetting “Wilayat al-Faqih” [The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist].
Translation: “A cartoon published in "Courrier International". It was censored in Lebanon, the braggart about freedoms amid fears of upsetting Wilayat al-Faqih in Lebanon. Khamenei appears wearing his turban from which wars and destruction spark off.”
In defense of the freedom of media, journalist Dima Sadek went to share the cartoon on Twitter.
Translation: “This cartoon was banned in Lebanon. OK, now we share it.”
While the reasons behind the censorship are still questioned by the public, many suspected the authorities’ decision to censor it was really a reason to have it spread everywhere! Otherwise, no one would have noticed it.
Translation: “If the Lebanese general security did not censor the cartoon, no one would have noticed it. Because the number of Lebanese who buy the “Courrier International” is not that big, also the original edition is available online for the newspaper’s subscribers. With the censorship decision, the cartoon is now viral on all pages. Conclusion: Censorship is not helpful.”
