Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Photo: AFP
Hezbollah slams Arab satellites for suspending Iranian TV
After being dropped by Arabsat, Egyptian Nilesat satellite providers, Al-Alam channel says it is 'paying the price for its support of resistance in Lebanon'
Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah slammed on Friday two Arab satellite providers for dropping a television channel from predominantly Shiite Iran as a "violation of freedom of speech and opinion."
Censorship
Private English-language school in western Beirut drops textbook containing excerpts from 'The Diary of Anne Frank' after Shiite terror group says it promotes Zionism, focuses on persecution of Jews
"Hezbollah condemns Arabsat and Nilesat's decision to stop broadcasting the channel Al-Alam, a decision made on political grounds," the terror group said in a statement about the Arabic-language channel.
"Hezbollah declares its solidarity with the channel and considers this a violation of freedom of speech and opinion," the statement said.
Arabsat and Egyptian Nilesat this week stopped broadcasting Al-Alam on the grounds it was in breach of contract, the press reported.
But Al-Alam's Beirut bureau chief, Atef Moussawi, said the decision was as punishment for the channel supporting Hezbollah.
"Al-Alam is paying the price for its support of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine," Moussawi said in a television interview.
Iran, along with ally Syria, is a major backer of Hezbollah.
