Makram Rabah briefly held for anti-Hezbollah interview

On Monday, Lebanon’s General Security directorate temporarily detained Makram Rabah, a vocal critic of Hezbollah, for questioning regarding comments he made in an interview about alleged Hezbollah arms depots and production facilities.

Reports indicate that Rabah’s detention was linked to his refusal to surrender his cellphone. In response, his supporters and various activists organized a protest outside the General Security headquarters in Beirut to show solidarity.

Rabah, speaking to Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath TV after his release, attributed his detention to an order from Military Court investigative judge Fadi Akiki. He criticized the action as an attempt to silence dissent against Hezbollah, accusing the Military Court of being used as a tool of suppression.

Rabah also made a pointed comparison, suggesting that if he were involved in illegal activities like Hezbollah allegedly is, Judge Akiki wouldn’t have detained him. He emphasized that the Lebanese constitution protects his freedom of speech.

He further accused those responsible for not apprehending the killers of Lokman Slim, a critic of Hezbollah and Rabah’s friend, of collaboration.

Rabah had claimed in a YouTube interview that Hezbollah was using the Qalamoun area near the Syrian-Lebanese border for rocket production and storage, stating these sites could be identified using GPS and online searches.

He had previously announced on Instagram that he was summoned by the General Security’s national security department for questioning.

Calls for Rabah’s immediate release were made by Sami Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party, who vowed to resist attempts to revert to past practices of case fabrication and suppression of free speech.

Members of the Change bloc in parliament, including Paula Yacoubian, Najat Saliba, Firas Hamdan, Melhem Khalaf, Ibrahim Mneimneh, and Yassine Yassine, also stood in solidarity with Rabah. They issued a joint statement condemning the summoning as an intimidation tactic and a threat to freedom of expression, affirming that such rights are guaranteed by the constitution.