Lebanese newspaper, editor sued for insulting Saudi king

Lebanon's public prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against ad-Diyar newspaper and its owner and editor-in-chief Charles Ayoub on charges of insulting Saudi King Salman, the daily has said.

The prosecution has demanded a one-year jail term and a fine for Ayoub, ad-Diyar said on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, Ayoub had likened the Saudi monarch to controversial medieval Muslim theologian Ibn Taymiyyah and called Saudi Minister Thamer al-Sabhan an "Israeli agent", Xinhua news agency reported.

Ayoub's article was published during the Lebanese-Saudi crisis that followed Prime Minister Saad Hariri's controversial resignation.

The public prosecution had on Friday filed a lawsuit against comedian Hisham Haddad, the host of "Lahon-w-bass" Lebanon's most watched satirical TV show.

 

Haddad has been accused of "insulting" Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Hariri in one of the episodes.

--IANS

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