Mikati vows to protect free speech

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati vowed Sunday to protect free speech on the occasion of Lebanon's Martyrs Press Day and saluted journalists who died in the line of duty.

I, stemming from my belief in free speech, promise the Lebanese press and the rest of media outlets to preserve press freedom, Mikati said in a statement.

He also expressed his readiness to cooperate with the press and media institutions to develop laws that regulate their affairs and preserve free speech.

The press has embodied and still embodies the pillar of free speech in Lebanon and the essence of democracy that characterizes it, Mikati said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea also saluted the efforts of slain journalists.

In a statement, he also vowed to continue the struggle toward a civilized and free society.

I raise my right hand to greet them and pray for them and vow in their name to always fight for the sake of a civilized life and the principles of the free, Geagea said.

The most recent victim of violence that targeted a journalist in the country was the killing of Ali Shaaban, the Al-Jadeed cameraman who was shot at the Lebanon-Syria border in April.

Shaaban, 30, was killed when the car he was traveling in was hit by a volley of machine gunfire in the northern area of Wadi Khaled near the border with Syria.

Al-Jadeed blamed the Syrian Army for Shaabans killing.

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Mikati vows to protect free speech