A prominent Lebanese actor and director arrested for spying for Israel may have been framed by a former senior member of Lebanon's cyber intelligence unit.
According to Lebanese media reports, police have arrested Susan Hajj Hobeiche on suspicion of paying a Lebanese hacker to falsify evidence against Ziad Itani. According to the reports, additional arrests were expected in the coming days.
While media outlets did not provide an explanation as to what drove Hobeiche to falsely accuse Itani of spying for Israel, there were those on social media who argued she had sought to incriminate the popular actor in an effort to improve her standing among her superiors at the intelligence agency.
Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Nohad Machnouk confirmed the reports. He said, "Authorities in Lebanon and the entire nation must apologize to Itani for the pain and suffering he was made to endure. We all need to ask him for forgiveness. It is not enough to declare him innocent. He is a patriot, and we are proud of him."
Itani was arrested in Beirut in November over allegations he spied for Israel. At the time, Lebanese media reported that an Israeli intelligence officer had used a Swedish alias, "Colette," to contact the actor. After a number of months in which the officer earned Itani's trust, she revealed she was an intelligence officer who sought to cultivate politicians in Lebanon that supported the normalization of ties with Israel.
Itani reportedly confessed to having been "tasked with monitoring a group of high-level political figures" and their associates.
The reports also said that despite Collette's revelation, Itani had remained in contact with the Israeli agent via an encrypted texting application and by changing identities and personal profiles every few days. According to the report, the actor received a monthly salary of $1,000 from his Israeli handlers.
The Israeli agent had allegedly asked Itani to improve his relationship with two senior Lebanese politicians with whom he was acquainted: Interior Minister Machnouk and former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mrad.
