Lebanese Journalist Carol Malouf: Hizbullah Imposes Censorship with the Power of Its Weapons

Interviewed by the Syrian opposition Orient TV channel, Lebanese journalist Carol Malouf said that Hizbullah "imposes censorship with the power of its weapons." She was responding to a recent incident in which the Lebanese Murr TV cut the broadcast of an interview that she had held with two Hizbullah fighters held captive by Jabhat Al-Nusra in Syria, airing only a seven-minute segment. Malouf, who said that the TV station had been pressured by Hizbullah, later posted the full interview on YouTube. "We have seen Murr TV succumb to [Hizbullah pressure]," she said in the February 13 interview with Orient TV.

Following are excerpts:

Carol Malouf: it is very difficult to hold anti-Hizbullah opinions in Lebanon. My position was not anti-Hizbullah. It was purely journalistic work.

Interviewer: Can we say that Hizbullah censors journalism in Lebanon? It publishes whatever it wishes and censors at its will.

Carol Malouf: Yes, it imposes censorship with the power of its weapons. When someone reaches the position where he thinks he has absolute power, he believes that with one word or one phone call, he can deter people from doing what he doesn't want them to do.

Interviewer: Does Lebanon press succumb to this authority?

Carol Malouf: We have seen Murr TV succumb to this. They were under pressure and eventually succumbed.