Lebanese journalist Layal Al-Ekhtiyar is taking legal action against the person behind a social media campaign alleging her involvement in a prostitution network in Lebanon.
On Friday morning, Al-Ekhtiyar filed a defamation and slander lawsuit with the Mount Lebanon Public Prosecution against an unknown individual.
The lawsuit concerns a tweet posted recently, accusing the journalist and her husband of running an alleged prostitution network with a group of Lebanese people in Jounieh.
The complaint has been referred to the head of the Special Criminal Investigation Department, who will then refer it to the Cybercrimes Bureau to conduct an investigation and proceed with the required legal procedures, according to the National News Agency.
Earlier this week, Al-Ekhtiyar posted a tweet in which she commented on the campaign targeting her.
“To whoever decided to launch the ridiculous campaign that targets my dignity and morals, and which expresses the banality of its owners and their superficiality and psychological and sick complexes, I will not be tempted to respond, and my professional conscience is at ease. I will not add more than this,” she wrote.
It’s worth noting that the campaign against the journalist emerged following the controversial interview of former caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe, which she hosted on Al-Hurra.