Lebanese judge bans media from interviewing US ambassador

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese judge Saturday banned local and foreign media outlets in the country from interviewing the U.S. ambassador to Beirut for a year, calling a recent interview in which she criticized the powerful Hezbollah group seditious and a threat to social peace.

The court decision reflected the rising tension between the U.S. and Hezbollah. It also revealed a widening rift among groups in Lebanon, which is facing the worst economic crisis in its modern history.

Judge Mohamad Mazeh in the southern city of Tyre said he acted after receiving a complaint from a citizen who considered Ambassador Dorothy Shea’s comments to a Saudi-owned station “insulting to the Lebanese people.”

Mazeh said Shea's comments incited sectarian strife and threatened social peace. The judge said while he can’t ban the ambassador from speaking, he can bar the media from interviewing her for a year. Mazeh made the decision on Saturday, the start of the weekend, saying the matter was urgent.

The backlash was swift.

The private LBC TV station said it would appeal the ruling and called it a violation of media freedom. Critics of Hezbollah called it politicized.

But others hailed the ban as “brave" on social media, saying Shea had crossed a line, interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs.

Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad wrote on Twitter the judiciary may be reacting to the interference of some diplomats in the country's affairs. However, “no one has the right to prevent the media from covering news or undermine press freedoms," she wrote.

The judge’s ruling came a day after Shea told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath that Washington has “great concerns” over Hezbollah’s role in the government.

In her first response to the ruling, Shea called it “unfortunate"...