Lebanon's Hariri overrules ban on 'The Post' after public uproar
Source: Washington Post
Lebanons Hariri overrules ban on The Post after public uproar
By Liz Sly and Suzan Haidamous January 17 at 6:03 PM
BEIRUT Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri personally intervened to override a ban on screening the movie The Post after an outcry among many Lebanese, government officials said Wednesday.
The reversal of the ban represented a rare contradiction by the government of a ruling by Lebanons censorship board . Officials said they could not remember the last time such a decision had been made.
The Post had been barred because of ties between the films director, Steven Spielberg, and Israel. Lebanese laws sanction artistic content created by people connected to Israel. Spielberg violated the laws, which date to the 1950s, by making a contribution to relief efforts in Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon.
Hariri, who recently returned to his role after a brief and bizarre resignation involving Saudi Arabia, asked the Interior Ministry not to implement the ban, said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. Hariri did so, the official said, because he is opposed to the idea of banning movies.
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