Beirut Pride suspended after organiser was interrogated and threatened by Lebanon authorities
The region is more tolerant of the LGBT community than other Arab countries
By Steve Brown
The only LGBT festival in the Arab world has been suspended after Lebanon authorities interrogated its organiser.
The second Beirut Pride kicked off the festival with a concert starring a band fronted by a Brooklyn-based Sudanese singer and the week long event was set to include cultural events, talks and readings to try and raise awareness of the LGBT community.
However, Lebanon’s general security agency stopped a reading on Monday (May 14) and interrogated festival organiser Hadi Damien and threatened him with prosecution, the Daily Mail reported.
Damien was advised to “sign a pledge that assures the activities will not take place” in exchange for his release, he said in a statement.
The rest of the events planned for the festival – including poetry readings, storytelling and a talk on sexual health – were all cancelled.
Although Lebanon is more tolerant of its LGBT community that other Arab countries, an event was shut down during the first ever Pride festival last year.