Lebanese singer Ragheb Alameh has filed a complaint against one of the satellite stations, whose name was not revealed, forbidding them to air any of his songs. The complaint came after the station posted a satirical caricature of him instead of a real photo insulting his image.
According to the UAE based daily, Al Bayan, the station had previously asked the singer to have the sole rights to air his songs without giving that right to any other station, but Ragheb refused especially after the embarrassment of the cartoon of him.
This is not the first time the singer has experienced an incident with a satellite station and has been to court early last year after a problem he faced with one of the Lebanese satellite stations. Last May a case was filed against Ragheb by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation LBC, where the singer stressed that the court’s decision was a victory for freedom in Lebanon and for the freedom of speech in general that concerns him and all other Lebanese performers. The case gave new evidence on the fairness of the Lebanese judiciary system. He also stressed that as a singer he has his own identity and freedom to say and do as he please, and that nothing can tie him down.
The LBC filed a lawsuit directly against Alameh accusing him of defaming the station in a press interview with a local paper on June 1, 2001 and in which he talked about monopoly on part of the station of the art it is involved in.
The Lebanese Judicial system turned down the case accusing him of defamation. Beirut’s Magistrate Hatem Madi turned down the case against Alameh for insufficient evidences and imposed fine on the claimant, LBC, including the case fees and legal expenditure linked with the case. -Albawaba.com
