“Protest led by worried Lebanese inside a hospital in Lebanon…” This was one of Michel Hayek’s 2020 predictions on New Year’s Eve.
People related this prediction to the brutal attack against the Lebanese Lawyer Wassef El-Harake.
El-Harake was in an interview at Sawt Lebnen radio station in Ashrafieh. At exiting the building, he was assaulted by four thugs using sharp tools.
El-Harake is known for his honest and bold opinions to which many Lebanese, especially the people of the revolution, relate to.
On his way to the hospital after the attack, he shared online that he was being transported to Hotel Dieu, where several protesters rushed to meet him.
Protests ensued online and on the ground against such attacks on activists, lawyers, and fellow protesters,
Among those who prompted to meet El-Harake at the hospital was the head of Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf.
Khalaf came out of the hospital, reassuring the crowd and reporters that El-Harake is awake. He denounced the attack and defended the rights of Wassef El-Harake and all other Lebanese lawyers.
Attacks on protesters aren’t rare, as we’ve seen since the onset of the revolution. Many such incidents occurred in attempts to silence the people and/or to “punish” them for even joking about or mentioning a political leader.
So, what made this incident as relevant as to be predicted by Michel Hayek?
Is it because a lawyer, a defender of law and rights by profession, spoke openly against Hezbollah, and the must of Lebanon’s military sovereignty?
Or is it because Lebanon has reached a point in which lawyers could be shut off by the means of violence?
