The Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians responded Saturday to the latest developments in the Ziad Itani case, after reports emerged that the actor had been framed by a former Internal Security Forces officer. President Michel Aoun called for all parties to comply with the confidentiality of the investigation – in which Itani stood charged of collaborating with Israel – and not to speculate on the facts of the case until the legal and judicial procedures had been completed, according to a statement from the president’s media office. Aoun also criticized the reportage of local media outlets and the criticism leveled by some Lebanese at the country’s security agencies, describing such communiques as “outside the framework of the legal rules and regulations, and full of fallacies.” Itani was in November 2017 charged with collaborating with Israel, and reportedly admitted to the charges brought against him during an interrogation session. The case resurfaced Friday afternoon after new information was brought forward. “The case of Itani should be withdrawn from political and media discussion and should stop being used to damage the [reputation] of the judiciary and the security services,” Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement from his media office. He added that the case was being handled by the judiciary and security agencies, which are the responsible entities and alone could decide the outcome. “Attempts to exploit and politicize [the case] should be stopped and it is unacceptable to try and shake the confidence in the Lebanese judiciary and security apparatus.” Meanwhile, Itani’s family and his lawyer held a press conference to thank those “who worked silently and impartially to uncover the plot against Ziad Itani.” The actor’s legal representative, Rami Itani, called on the authorities to complete the investigation and reveal those behind the case against Itani. “We believed in his innocence since the beginning,” he said, refusing to enter into any legal details about the preliminary investigations. He requested that “friends” allow the judiciary to complete their work and not to entangle the case in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

A recent State Security statement seemed to suggest that ulterior motives might be behind the resurfacing of the case prior to the elections, describing such a move as a “great service to Israel” given that it threatened to shake the public’s trust in Lebanon’s security agencies at a critical time. “We demand that the elections be removed from this issue,” Rami Itani said. His brother, Riad, defended Ziad, saying that they had been raised in a house with Arab nationalist values and thus “the idea of dealing with Israel is a red line.” On Friday afternoon, a former Internal Security Forces official Maj. Suzan Hajj Hobeiche was arrested for allegedly framing Itani and fabricating evidence, reportedly over a personal grievance. “Hobeiche did it in retaliation after Itani screenshotted her ‘like’ of a Twitter post,” a judicial source told The Daily Star Saturday morning, noting that various sources backed up this version of events.

In Oct. 2017, when Hobeiche was asked to step down from her role as the chief of the ISF’s Anti-Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Rights Bureau, media outlets speculated that her fall was connected to her social media activity. The judicial source said that Hobeiche believed that Itani – a writer and actor – had played a part in her dismissal. As a result, the source said, Hobeiche had employed a hacker to open fake accounts online and fabricate conversations between Itani and an Israeli woman. “All Lebanese must apologize to Ziad Itani. Innocence isn’t enough. The only true and fixed reality is [our] pride in him and his patriotism,” Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk wrote on Twitter after media outlets broke the news of Hobeiche’s involvement and Itani’s supposed innocence. However, both Justice Minister Salim Jreissati and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt wrote in separate tweets that an apology was not in order. “The Lebanese people are not apologizing to anyone. It is not appropriate for any official to request such an apology. The declaration of innocence or conviction is the sole jurisdiction of the judiciary,” Jreissati wrote.