A judge freed Ziad Itani from detention and ordered the arrest of a security officer who built the case against him. Mr Itani was suspected of gathering information on Lebanese politicians with a view to passing it on to Israel. It was alleged that Mr Itani had confessed to being “tasked to monitor a group of high-level political figures”. However, close associates said his “confession” was extracted under duress, a claim denied by the authorities.

As he left Roumieh Prison on Tuesday, a tearful Mr Itani flashed a “V” for victory sign and said he had been subjected to a great injustice. “I am an artist and the son of the stage… how could I be accused of such ugly things?” Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported him saying. Itani then met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the premier’s residence. “Today, justice has prevailed,” Hariri told him in a televised encounter. “The government proved that the way it works and the processes it uses can produce good work,” he said. Hariri said that false information was circulated leading to Itani’s arrest, “but it doesn’t mean the system is wrong, anyone would have reached the same conclusion.” Prime Minister Saad Hariri later met the actor and said the security services had received “wrong information”. The security officer arrested on the judges orders was a former head of an anti-cybercrime unit, Lt Col Suzan Hobeiche.

by Daily Star.com.lb — Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghaida had issued the arrest warrants against Hobeiche and Ghabash after ending his investigation into the case, a judicial source told The Daily Star. Abu Ghaida completed his questioning of Hobeiche earlier in the day. Ghabash was also brought into the interrogation room during the session, the source said. A confrontation reportedly ensued between the two suspects, during which Hobeiche denied that she had forced Ghabash to hack into Itani’s online accounts. “Congratulations to Ziad Itani, congratulations to Judge Abu Ghaida. The stage is waiting for you,” Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk tweeted after Itani’s release. Hobeiche, a former head of the Internal Security Forces Anti-Cybercrime Bureau, is being sued by a public prosecutor at the Military Tribunal for criminal defamation and hacking. Judge Hani Helmi al-Hajjar filed the motion against Hobeiche and Ghabash, who are suspected of fabricating evidence against Itani to frame him as a spy for Israel. Hobeiche’s lawyer, Rashid Derbass, also attended Tuesday’s questioning, according to the source. Ghabash’s wife is later expected to be brought in as a witness in the case. Itani was arrested late last year after State Security forces uncovered social media messages between the actor and a suspected Mossad agent. He later confessed to charges of collaboration with Israel.