On 8 October 2026, Nizar Ghanem, Director of Research at Badil / The Alternative Policy Institute (API), is scheduled to appear before Lebanon’s Publications Court in a defamation and libel case brought by a banker. Ghanem was summoned on 30 July 2026, after the complaint, first lodged with the Cybercrimes Bureau, was transferred to the Publications Court.
The case stems from an April 2025 panel in which Ghanem discussed pressure on independent and alternative media in Lebanon and alleged that entities linked to the banker were targeting independent outlets. These allegations are the subject of the complaint and have not been adjudicated. The hearing forms part of a wider wave of complaints filed in June 2025 against Ghanem, Badil/API and other media and civic actors, which has raised concerns about the use of legal action by banking interests to constrain the press in Lebanon.
Such use of criminal defamation and libel proceedings against media in Lebanon deters civil society actors from scrutinising powerful economic interests and speaking openly about threats to independent journalism.