An online campaign has successfully secured the release on bail of a Lebanese man who was arrested for a Facebook post critical of senior politicians.
Hassan Saad was detained after sharing the following denunciation of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, his Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Nabih Berry, Speaker of Lebanese parliament, on the social networking site:
“After deep thought, I have decided...that I will begin praying, fasting, giving the “khums” and “zakat” alms, performing the Hajj and the Umra pilgrimages, and visiting holy places, when the following people start abstaining from and repenting from stealing and looting public money, and imposing a policy of starvation: Nabih Berry and Hariri are at their head, the old man of Baabda [the area of Lebanon Aoun comes from] and many others, the list is long."
While the post was not public, a screenshot of his words were sent to the Office for Combatting Cybercrime, which arrested Saad last Saturday on suspicion of “challenging the president”, according to Janoubia news.
Lebanese Twitter users were quick to respond by using hashtags “a status is not a crime” and “freedom for Hassan Saad” to call for his release.
الحرية للرفيق الناضل حسن سعد
— ☭ Ahmad Saad (@ahmadAs0010) February 1, 2017
الحرية لمن قال الحقيقة و اعتقل
السلام عليك يا كبير #ابن_عمي_الثائر#الحرية_لحسن_سعد pic.twitter.com/oqoYdAuN6K
Freedom for my rebellious friend Hassan Saad. Freedom for someone who told the truth and was arrested. Peace upon you, you great man.
كلمة الحق بتجرح بس هيك
— zein nasser el dine (@zein_naseredine) January 31, 2017
الستاتيوس مش جريمة ، الجريمة انك تمنع الحريات #الحرية_لحسن_سعد #يلا_تعوا_خدوني pic.twitter.com/81rqN1IbJA
The truth hurts, it’s just that. A status is not a crime, the real crime is preventing freedoms.
#الاخبار_من_عندك ايمتى حتفهم القوى الامنية انو #الستايتوس_مش_جريمة ؟... وانو توقيف شخص كرامة بوست هيدي بحد ذاتها جريمة!.. #الحرية_لحسن_سعد
— Omar Kaskas (@kaskasomar) January 30, 2017
When will the security forces understand that #AStatusIsNotACrime? ...Arresting someone because of a post that is a crime in itself! ...#FreedomForHassanSaad
أول مرة وئفوا حداً كرمال ستاتوس عملت ضجة
— Varia (@varianaoufal) January 31, 2017
هلىء صار شي كتير عادي
هيدا هدفهم!!!#الستاتوس_مش_جريمة#الحرية_لحسن_سعد pic.twitter.com/bUwwbG9ZCF
The first time they arrested someone for a status it caused uproar. Now it has become ordinary. That is their goal.
Following widespread condemnation of Saad’s arrest on social media, Lebanese French-language paper L’Orient du Jour today reported that he had been released, after having paid a bail requirement of 400,000 Lebanese pounds.
This is not the first incident of Lebanese social media users getting in trouble with the law for their online activities. A Lebanese tourist guide was arrested in January after he posted a series of insulting tweets about the victims of the Istanbul nightclub shootings. Last December a local journalist, Bassel el-Amine, was detained for his Facebook status criticizing Lebanese officials for not providing greater support for Syrian refugees.
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