Publications

The study aimed to analyze the Lebanese legislative framework and its contradiction with the constitution and international obligations, as well as analyze the escalating trend of arbitrary practices against journalists aimed at narrowing freedom of expression and the press, and analyze judicial precedents. It documented several cases related to the situation of electronic freedoms, ranging from harassment and threats to criminalizing activities on social media and free writing in personal blogs. It presented successive violations against bloggers and journalists, with the absence of laws protecting internet freedom, which remains under the jurisdiction of criminal justice, as well as attempts at censorship and narrowing by the Cybercrime Bureau against bloggers and citizens. The study concluded that abolishing defamation crimes is a necessary step to ensure effective exercise of press freedom and journalism and included recommendations for legal and judicial reforms ensuring freedom of expression and journalism. link : https://maharatfoundation.org/en/DecriminalizingSpeechOffenses