Journalists attacked while filming Lebanon's last turtle sanctuaries

The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International's (LBCI) cameraman Samir Baytamouni was attacked and beaten Wednesday while filming a report on one of Lebanon's last remaining turtle sanctuaries. 

The LBCI crew, including Baytamouni and reporter Sobhiya Najjar, was shooting at al-Mansouri public beach in Tyre district south of Lebanon, where the illegal construction of a private resort is threatening marine turtles that come to Mansouri beach to lay their eggs. 

Despite having gotten permission from authorities, the crew was physically and verbally attacked by a man at the construction site.

Commonly known as the turtle beach, Mansouri beach is an internationally recognized nature reserve considered as one of the only remaining sanctuaries in the country, Najjar confirmed. But, like countless other natural gems in Lebanon, the site has fallen victim to illegal construction and the privatization of public property.

In an interview on LBCI, Najjar said that the crew went to film a report at the beach after learning of activist Mona Khalil's efforts to raise awareness on the threats facing marine life in the area. 

Just after arriving to the section where the illegal construction is taking place, the crew was attacked by a middle-aged man who came out of the construction site, running from a distance and shouting "Stop the camera!".

According to Najjar, Baytamouni stopped shooting right away, while Najjar took out her phone to record the assault. "I turned on my phone right away. But I didn't expect him to be that aggressive," Najjar said.

Without asking who they were or what they were doing, the man ambushed Baytamouni and beat him. 

In the video recorded by Najjar, the man is seen pushing Baytamouni, knocking him down on the floor and hitting him hard repeatedly.

Najjar said that the man cussed and threatened the team, and they were worried that he might take out a weapon. 

"Of course, the man was scared, and so were the land owners, because he attacked us right away," said Najjar. "He didn't even try to negotiate with us or ask us who we were."

Najjar noted that the crew tried to explain to the attacker that they had notified Tyre's District Commissioner of their visit and that the cameraman had stopped shooting as soon as he heard the man's shout. 

The crew then went to Khalil's house and waited for army forces to escort them out of the site. 

Najjar said that authorities claimed that the attacker had mental problems, but she believes that is not the case. 

The perpetrator, who has been identified as H.Ch., has since been arrested and LBCI has filed a lawsuit against him.

For years, Mona Khalil has been working to protect the Mansouri beach, one of the cleanest in Lebanon, and shed light on its ecological significance through her Orange House Project.

Construction is already underway at the beach, despite Tyre's District Commissioner's, Mohammad Jaffal, confirming that he had not granted any license to construction sites near the reserve.

"I fully support Sobhiyya and Samir Baytamouni: Press freedom is our most important asset and the one being taken away from us."

This is not the first time Najjar and Baytamouni are attacked while filming illegal construction sites, but it is the first she has ever been able to document fully.  

Najjar said that such acts of violence will not hold her back from taking risks and reporting on acts of transgression. "We have a responsibility toward ourselves and the citizens [to report such stories]," she said. 

Earlier this year, the Lebanese parliament passed a law that guarantees journalists' right to access information from their original sources.