On Monday, the Palestinian/Syrian-American journalist, Nada Homsi, was allowed to enter Lebanon after being held at Beirut International Airport with threats of deportation.
The Lebanese authorities arrested the journalist amid claims of an entry ban against her.
After her release Homsi posted on Twitter: “A few minutes ago I was released from the airport. I still don’t know why I was banned in the first place but thank you to everyone who supported and advocated for my release”.
In a statement, the Alternative Press Syndicate in Lebanon called on the Lebanese General Security “to reverse the illegal deportation decision immediately, to allow her to enter Lebanese territory, and to respect her right to reside in Lebanon, as she is married to a Palestinian with a Lebanese mother.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has also condemned Lebanon’s actions against Nada Homsi, said that this is not the first time the journalist gets arrested in Lebanon.
In November, the General Security officers raided Homsi’s apartment without a judicial order, where they found a small amount of cannabis.
They detained her later, and she was not allowed to contact her family for six days after her arrest.
Nada Homsi’s lawyer, Diala Chehade, then filed a request to release her on November 25. However, HRW reported that “the General Security continued to detain Homsi under the pretext that she was working in the country without a proper work permit, and they issued a deportation order for her.”
