Lebanon: Travel ban lifted for artist Fadl Shaker, passport returned

In a new judicial development that has opened the door for Lebanese artist Fadel Shaker to leave the country, the military court decided to lift the precautionary travel ban against him and return his passport, while obliging him to attend all upcoming court sessions.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar reported that Shaker went to the General Security Directorate in Beirut on Wednesday morning to collect his passport, in preparation for leaving Lebanon in the coming days to meet with his family and check on his health condition. He is expected to return later to resume his artistic activities, pending the final verdict in the cases pending before the military court.

Last week, the Permanent Military Court, presided over by Brigadier General Wissam Fayyad, decided to release Shaker in the four security cases filed against him.

The court set financial bail of 100 million Lebanese pounds for each of three cases, and 200 million Lebanese pounds for the “Aabra events” case.

The Government Commissioner at the Military Court, Judge Claude Ghannam, also approved his release.