On March 17, 2024, Lebanese philosopher and journalist Makram Rabah was summoned for questioning by Lebanon's General Security Directorate for his criticism of Hezbollah. 

The summons was issued by Judge Fadi Aqiqi, the Lebanese government commissioner to the military court.  Rabah was released after several hours of questioning, but the investigation against him is ongoing. 

According to him, the interrogators accused him of collaboration with Israel, of disclosing information about Hezbollah military positions and of harming this organization.

In an article he published after his release, Rabah, who is known as a harsh critic of Hezbollah, attributed his summons to statements he had made in an interview with a Lebanese news channel several days earlier, in which he slammed the organization and its decision to join the war against Israel after October 7. 

In the interview Rabah stated: "On October 8 [Hezbollah Secretary-General] Hassan Nasrallah said: 'We opened up this front,' and thereby rendered Israel's retaliation [against Lebanon] legitimate according to international law.

As for the claim that Israel has ambitions [to expand] into our territory, I actually wish it would come and take the Litani River. That would be better than [seeing it] turn into sewage. 

The claim that Lebanon is Israel's only target is not accurate [either]. 

Israel would have been happy to see Hezbollah become the guardian of its northern border, but when Iran ordered Hezbollah to open up the [Lebanese] front so as to preserve [Iran's and Hezbollah's] reputation in the eyes of the Arab and Islamic public, it complied [with this request] … We can regain the disputed Lebanese territories through diplomacy, as we did with U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein in the agreement for delineating the [maritime] border.  In the eyes of Hezbollah we are all traitors…"

Rabah's summons for questioning was widely condemned by Lebanese politicians and journalists that oppose Hezbollah, who called it an attempt to intimidate him and silence his criticism of the organization. Journalist Vera Bou Monsef noted that Judge Aqiqi "is considered very close to Hezbollah."

The launch of an investigation against Rabah for his criticism of Hezbollah reflects the extent of this organization's control of the Lebanese state and its security apparatuses, but also the organization's anxiety about and sensitivity to criticism of its conduct in Lebanon, which is growing as the war with Israel continues and escalates.   

LEBANESE POLITICIANS: THE SUMMONS WAS MEANT TO SOW FEAR AND PREVENT CRITICISM OF Hezbollah; WE WILL NOT REMAIN SILENT

When news of Rabah's summons became known, Lebanese MPs who oppose Hezbollah called for his immediate release. They stressed his right to voice his opinion and rejected out of hand the allegation of collaboration with Israel. On the contrary, they said, Rabah strives to protect Lebanon from the "terror militia" Hezbollah.

MP Samy Al-Gemayel, head of the Kataeb (Phalanges) party, called to release Rabah without delay. 

Another MP from this party, Nadim Al-Gemayel, who is Samy's cousin and the son of Bashir Al-Gemayel, assassinated in 1982, said: "The era of the policy of directing accusations of treason and demonizing anyone who opposes you [Hezbollah] is over. 

Defending Lebanon and its sovereignty, which is violated by Hezbollah and its gang, is not collaboration but rather patriotism of the first order. Drawing a line for the terror militia that has hijacked the state and destroyed its institutions and economy is not collaboration but the noblest form of patriotism. Oppression and intimidation never have and never will silence the free writers…"