By Nohad Tobalian | 2025-09-22

Prominent Lebanese journalist Walid Abboud received death threats on September 8, after flyers were posted on the entrance wall of his home in northern Beirut.

The flyers carried the signature of the "Houthi Ansarullah Group," a reference to Yemen’s Houthi militants.

Abboud is the news director at Lebanon’s MTV channel, a host of a talk show on Télé Liban, and presenter of a weekly program on Hala Arabia TV.

The threats included insults directed at him and his family, as well as explicit warnings of kidnapping, torture, and assassination.

"The time for your punishment has come… so, be always ready and cautious of the punishments awaiting you: kidnapping, torture, then physical liquidation," one flyer read.

Journalists critical of Hizbullah and Iran’s allies in Lebanon frequently face intimidation, often through online threats and harassment.

This latest incident sparked outrage among Lebanese journalists, politicians, and human rights groups, who expressed solidarity with Abboud.

Security agencies have since launched an investigation.

Coordinated smear campaign

Abboud said he is "awaiting the results of the security agencies’ investigation to determine the nature of the threats."

"Regardless of their source, these threats target free speech and constitute an attack on the safety of journalists," he told Al-Fassel.

"We are witnessing an online smear campaign against journalists launched by the Iranian axis," he added.

Abboud said that he personally came under attack following his introduction "leave us alone" on his programme Ya Abyad Ya Aswad on Hala Arabia TV in June, where he openly criticized Iran and Hizbullah.

"These threats aim to silence opposition voices," he said.

"In recent years, Hizbullah and the Iranian axis didn’t have difficulties in silencing free voices through intimidation and security operations. Now, however, the threats are limited to social media and flyers," Abboud said.

Exporting intimidations

The incident has fueled concerns that intimidation tactics once confined to Lebanon and Yemen are being exported across borders.

"Threatening any journalist is a red line, and we will not remain silent," Journalists for Freedom director Asaad Bechara told Al-Fassel.

"Threats to silence Lebanon’s critical press of the Resistance Axis -- whether from Hizbullah, the Houthis, or Iran -- continue, often taking an openly intimidating form on social media," he said.

"These threats sometimes go as far as death threats and incitement to bloodshed," he added.

Bechara linked the Houthis’ involvement to a broader regional agenda.

"The Houthis’ attempt to export their intimidation outside of Yemen falls within their efforts to destabilize the region," he said.

He emphasized that neither Hizbullah nor the Houthis act independently.

"Tehran remains committed to its proxies until the very end," he said. "That is why Hizbullah clings to its weapons and the Houthis continue to threaten the region."