Culture

Outrage in Lebanon after activist detained for posting dog abuse video

The arrest of an animal rights activist in Lebanon for refusing to remove a video documenting alleged animal abuse has revived a debate in Lebanon over abuse going unpunished.

Beatrice Farhat

May 20, 2026

BEIRUT — A Lebanese animal rights activist was released Tuesday following her brief detention after she posted a video documenting animal abuse, in a case that has sparked widespread controversy over the judiciary’s treating animal advocacy as a criminal offense.  

What happened: On Tuesday, Beirut judge Bilal Halawi ordered the detention of animal rights activist Ghina Nahfawi after she refused to take down a video showing a tied dog being dragged behind a vehicle.

In the footage she posted on April 28, Nahfawi said a Muslim cleric had tied the dog to the back of his car and drove around in the town of Azzounieh in the Aley district, southeast of Beirut, before stopping and tossing the dog to the side of the road.  

According to her, the dog was eventually rescued.

لن يُسكت صوت الحيوانات.

تم توقيف الناشطة غنى نحفاوي @ghina.nahfawi بناءً على إشارة من النيابة العامة الاستئنافية في جبل لبنان، بعد رفضها حذف........

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