By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: A scuffle broke out on Monday at the Beirut International and Arab Book Fair taking place at the Seaside Arena after activists demanded that the displayed pictures of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani be taken down. The activists, among whom were Shafiq Badr and Nelly Qandil, were severely beaten up after chanting “Beirut Free, Iran Out!” Soleimani’s huge picture was displayed at one of the book fair’s pavilion that kicked off last Thursday, angered social media activists and mocked the exhibition as the “Tehran Book Fair.” A squad from the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch later arrived on the scene and launched investigations as a number of other activists arrived in solidarity. Badr is part of the “Lebanon Rises Up” group, while Qandil is part of the “Lebanese sovereign opposition” group.
The book fair, organized by the Arab Cultural Club, was launched in its 63rd session under the slogan “Beirut cannot be broken” after a three-year forced hiatus due to the economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Beirut port’s explosion. Traditionally, the exhibition takes place in January each year, which has confused some participating publishing houses. Ninety Lebanese publishing houses – from Syria and Egypt and 10 from Iran – are taking part in the exhibition.