BEIRUT: Renowned Lebanese actor Ziad Itani who was jailed for several months on suspicion of spying for Israel has been released.
Ziad Itani had been accused of passing sensitive information on Lebanese politicians to Israel but the charges against him of “collaborating and communicating with the Israeli enemy” were dropped. Instead, Lt Col Suzan Hobeiche, former head of the Cyber-crime Unit was arrested upon the court’s order for manufacturing fake evidence against him.
Israel and Lebanon are technically still at war.
Itani allegedly admitted that he was “tasked to monitor a group of high-level political figures” but his supporters argued that such an admission was given under duress.
“I am an artist and the son of the stage… how could I be accused of such ugly things?” he said tearfully after leaving the Roumieh Prison on Tuesday.
He was later met by the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Harari who admitted that the security forces had the “wrong information” about him.
