A lawsuit was filed against TV host Faisal al-Qassem by Lebanese lawyers Monday over anti-Army remarks he made over the weekend, while Information Minister Ramzi Joreige also threatened to follow suit.
An anti-regime Syrian journalist and host of the weekly Al-Itijah al-Muakis [The opposite direction] talk-show aired by Al-Jazeera, Qassem posted on his Twitter account that the only achievements the Lebanese Army had made since its establishment were shooting video clips with Lebanese singers Wael Kfoury, Najwa Karam, Elissa and Haifa Wehbe, along with setting fire to Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon.
His remarks came days after the Army intensified its crackdown on Syrian refugee camps in the northeastern town of Arsal.
Outraged by the comments, a delegation of Lebanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against Qassem for violating Articles 295 and 157 of the Lebanese Penal Code.
According to a statement released by the lawyers Monday, the rationale behind the lawsuit was Qassem's remarks amounted to a “provocation of Lebanese public opinion through indirect incitement against the Army."
Accordingly, the charges leveled against him have accused the TV host of “undermining the prestige of the state and weakening national sentiment.”
His tweets are a violation of Article 295 of the penal law, the statement added.
By voicing contempt against the Army via a publicized medium mentioned in Article 209, Qassem has also violated Article 157, which can result in imprisonment for a period of three years.
The state prosecutor has allegedly transferred the lawsuit to the government commissioner at the Military Court.
Qassem’s remarks outraged many Lebanese who started a hashtag on Twitter insulting the journalist’s mother. The hashtag trended over the weekend with some Twitter users cursing Qassem and demanding he apologize for his remarks.
“Incitement against the Army is a punishable crime in Lebanon” Information Minister Ramzi Joreige told OTV Monday.
“I am studying the measures that could possibly be taken to punish the responsible [party]” he added, arguing that al-Qassem could be charged with the crime of weakening national sentiment and inciting sectarian strife.
But before measures could be taken, the information minister said an official response must first released by Al Jazeera’s central office.
“I request a clarification over the issue” he said, stressing that the head of Al Jazeera’s Beirut office is not authorized to issue a public apology before referring to headquarters in Qatar.
Seperately, Joreige defended a group of Lebanese activists who held a protest at the offices of Al-Jazeera television station in Beirut Sunday, saying that act was an “automatic and natural reaction.”
