BEIRUT – Prime Minister Saad Hariri has reportedly banned a Lebanese photojournalist from covering events at Beit Al Wasat, Hariri’s upscale mansion, according to a report in Global Voices.
Photojournalist Hussein Baydoun photographed Hariri with one finger in his mouth during a press conference on Oct. 20. He later posted the photo to Twitter with a comment in Arabic that translates to, “For your eyes.”
لعيونك
Photo:Hussein baydoun pic.twitter.com/KdrTwdJ3xI— hussein baydoun (@PhotographyHB) October 20, 2016
Baydoun, who works for a London-based Arabic news outlet, was reportedly told he could no longer cover Hariri’s events because the photo was “unofficial.”
Wael Yaman, director of digital and social media at the Future Movement, acknowledged on Twitter that Baydoun could no longer attend events at Beit Al Wasat.
@ghazayel @CMPaso @saadhariri the prob is not with the photo rather than the way it was promoted and distributed with a silly caption
— Wael Yaman (@WaelYaman) November 16, 2016
According to a Global Voices article, the prime minister’s office said Beit Al Wasat will be restricted to “permanent reporters” only.
Baydoun’s employer, The New Arab, is standing by its photographer, according to the article.
“I am fortunate that my newspaper is next to me, offering full support,” he told a Global Voices reporter. “We need to have a real photojournalists’ syndicate that fights for our rights.”