“National Bloc”: “Nida Al Watan” Pursuit Is a Submission of the “Fourth Estate”
The “Lebanese National Bloc Party” stressed that what distinguishes Lebanon from the rest of the surrounding countries is its respect for the freedom of expression, specifically with regard to all media outlets, and being an oasis of freedom. However, the recent attempts to silence the "fourth estate" and subjugate it under the pretext of defaming figures are extremely dangerous.
The Party considered, in a statement that what happened with the newspaper “Nida Al Watan” by referring the prosecution against it to the Publications Court, on the basis of a published article entitled “Welcome to the Khamenei Republic”, is a very dangerous and denounced decision. It is to note that there is a criminal article in the prosecution which takes to court the newspaper by its editor in chief and responsible director allowing the judge to issue a prison sentence against them.
The Party pointed out to the necessity of respecting the freedom of speech in Lebanon considering it as holy and to the fact that this target is not focused on the abovementioned newspaper but rather on the media in general. The Party warned against the repercussions of intellectual terrorism practice as it is the source of every terrorist activity.
The Party renewed its constant and continuous support to the freedom of speech in Lebanon and to just efforts, not least the issues of opinion of media and activists, Riad Al-Assad, Fida Itani, Ahmad Al-Ayoubi, Nabil Al-Halabi, Elie El-Khoury, Rawan Al-Khatib, Mohammad Awwad and others, in order to preserve human dignity and sanctities of the nation.