Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Another freedom of expression case that you won't hear about in Western or Arab media

Mustafa Sbayti wrote (under the influence of alcohol by his admission) a poet comment on Facebook in which he expressed his desire to "sleep with Virgin Mary".  Of course, the Christian AND Muslim religious establishment called for a severe punishment of him although he quickly removed the comment and profusely apologized.  He has been in jail for the last few weeks, and was released today.  Here is m article on the matter: "Between the Bishop and the Poet".   Naturally no one in Lebanon lifted a finger for the poet because he is a secular communist who posts Lenin's picture on his Facebook.  Human Right Watch's office in Beirut--increasingly part of the Hariri coalition camp-- would have made a stink about the matter if the poet was a pro-Hariri right-winger.