On Wednesday we were arrested and held awhile by General Security in Lebanon and told not to report from here until we receive the proper permits. This is a frustrating delay but I hope will soon resolve.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZG11UBoj-o
Obligatory clip: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZG11UBoj-o
Random thought: I wonder how Lebanese custody compares with British.
Cynical thought: as much as I appreciate most of Richie Medhurst’s reporting, this greatly contracting account of an arrest seems to compel me to double down on my assessment of his recent melodramatic reaction to his own was that of rather the drama queen, and of one who had quite obviously never been arrested before, as so many of the features of the experience that he so indignantly interpreted as evidence of his own especial persecution, were just normal standard features of the very experience of getting arrested itself, which I gauge was never intended to be overly comfortable or fun. No doubt he shouldn’t have been arrested and the fact that he was is part of a very disgusting pattern, but this account of an arrest really makes me feel vindicated in my previous such assessment of Richie’s reaction to his recent arrest.
Solemn thought: I wonder how deliberately you were targeted by the authorities for arrest because of who you are, and while you’ve pointed out that they target journalists as a whole, I really hope you don’t get targeted by the really hope you don’t get targeted by the most moral army in the world on a personal basis, because I really wouldn’t put it past them to do that. Surely, if you get targeted it will be with more specific awareness of your identity than simply that you are “a journalist,” but in any case, in such an event, you would be most sorely missed. Not sure what you could do to avoid that, so I will not sign off by asking you to “stay safe,” since if that was the point of your endeavours, you would surely not have gone to Beirut, so instead I may simply bid you good luck.
Oh dear, this has double posted when the first one I thought was deleted. Could moderators please kindly delete the 05:28 & 05:46 versions while leaving the latest post? 🙏
Obligatory clip: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZG11UBoj-o
Random thought: I wonder how Lebanese custody compares with British.
Cynical thought: as much as I appreciate most of Richie Medhurst’s reporting, this greatly contrasting account of an arrest makes me want to double down on my assessment of his recent melodramatic reaction to his own as that of rather the drama queen, and one who had quite obviously never been arrested before, as so many of the features of the experience that he so indignantly interpreted as evidence of his own especial persecution, were actually just normal standard features of the very experience of getting arrested in London itself, which I gather was never intended to be overly comfortable or fun. No doubt he shouldn’t have been arrested and the fact that he was is part of a very disgusting pattern, but this contrastingly matter of fact account of an arrest really makes me feel vindicated in my previous such assessment of Richie’s recent reaction to his own.
Solemn thought: I wonder how deliberately you were targeted by the authorities for arrest because of who you are, and while you’ve pointed out that they target journalists as a whole, I really hope you don’t get targeted by the most moral army in the world on a personal basis, because I really wouldn’t put it past them to do that. Surely, if you get targeted it will be with more specific awareness of your identity than simply that you are “a journalist,” but in any case, in such an event, you would be most sorely missed. Not sure what you could do to avoid that, so I will not sign off by asking you to “stay safe,” since if that was the point of your endeavours, you would surely not have gone to Beirut in the first place, so instead I may simply bid you good luck.
Has it occurred to you that Craig Murray’s “matter of fact” account of his arrest is because he has been forbidden to report, and therefore is saying the minimum in order to avoid further trouble?
No doubt Craig’s detailed and riveting stories of his life in prison would be regarded by you as equally melodramatic and self-indulgent. After all, he had never been imprisoned before, so what was the big deal? That it is instructive to hear first hand articulate accounts of how the mostly poor and disadvantaged may be routinely treated in this country is clearly of no interest to you.
Your post is grossly insulting to Richard Medhurst, whose account was fascinating and informative. Perhaps a journalist being arrested and detained for hours for no apparent reason except to intimidate him and give an object lesson to his colleagues is routine to you – no doubt you have been arrested yourself so many times that it gets boring. I was glad to hear what he had to say, personally.