Lebanese judge bans media from interviewing US ambassador after Hezbollah criticism

BEIRUT — A Lebanese judge bans local and foreign media outlets in the country from interviewing the US ambassador to Beirut for a year, calling a recent interview in which she criticized the powerful Hezbollah terror group seditious and a threat to social peace.

The court decision reflects the rising tension between the US and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. It also reveals a widening rift among groups in Lebanon, which is facing the worst economic crisis in its modern history.

Judge Mohamad Mazeh in the southern city of Tyre says he acted after receiving a complaint from a citizen who considered Ambassador Dorothy Shea’s comments to a Saudi-owned station “insulting to the Lebanese people.”

Mazeh says Shea’s comments incited sectarian strife and threatened social peace. The judge says while he can’t ban the ambassador from speaking, he can bar the media from interviewing her for a year. Mazeh made today, the start of the weekend, saying the matter was urgent.

The backlash was swift.

The private LBC TV station says it’ll appeal the ruling and calls it a violation of media freedom. Critics of Hezbollah call it politicized.

But others hail the ban as “brave” on social media, saying Shea had crossed a line, interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs.

The judge’s ruling came a day after Shea told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath that Washington has “great concerns” over Hezbollah’s role in the government.

In her first response to the ruling, Shea calls it “unfortunate” in a telephone interview with the local MTV station.

— Agencies