Location: Lebanon
Date: January 9, 2021

Layal Alikhtiar became the target of a hate campaign that was initiated against her by a separatist organisation. She was targeted with death threats over a tweet that she posted on January 5. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) follows the deliberate smear campaign against Layal with great concern. We demand authorities to take immediate action to stop online abuse towards the journalist.

According to the Arab News, anchor Layal Alikhtiyar, who works for US State Department-funded Alhurra, was targeted by a hate campaign after posting a video of the unveiling of a statue of the late Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani on her Twitter account. The journalist said she did not provoke anyone and expressed her right to freedom of expression.

Layal still believes that the core of her country lies in freedom of expression and in democracy. She is confident of the threats she faced. The journalist added, “An opinion must stay an opinion, no matter what happens, because without freedom of expression, journalism has no point, and the media has no point.”

Faisal J.Abbas, the editor-in-chief for Arab News also shared the long list of journalists that have been on the threat list of the separatist organisation in Lebanon.

In 2020, CFWIJ documented at least 27 cases of threats and attacks against women journalists in Lebanon. 18 journalists were attacked or impeded in the field. There were four reported cases of online harassment, three legal harassment, one physical assault and state oppression. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented at least 181 cases in the MENA region, which means that 15% of cases came from Lebanon. We urge Lebanese authorities to take necessary measures to ensure journalist’s safety.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.