Lebanese officials have been seeking to restore the role of the judiciary in the case of Ziad Itani, who was recently acquitted on charges of spying for Israel.
The prominent actor was detained in November on suspicion of espionage, creating shockwaves across the country.
After the acquittal, efforts have been underway to prevent the politicization of his case a few months before parliamentary elections, which are set for May.
Evidence emerged this week that proved that Itani fell victim to a plot hatched by Susan Hajj Hobeiche, the former head of the Lebanese Anti-Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Bureau.
Itani was accused of being recruited by a female Israeli intelligence agent, but investigations revealed that the “Israeli women” was in fact a hacker operating from within Lebanese territories.
On Friday, Lebanese security authorities arrested Hajj on suspicion of hiring the hacker to fake conversations between Itani and the Israeli agent.
The development sparked heated debates on social media and among politicians.
Politicians implied that the developments in Itani’s case had “electoral motives.”
Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on Saturday for maintaining the confidentiality of investigations and keeping judiciary dossiers away from any exploitation.
In a statement released by the Presidency, he called for "complying with the confidentiality of investigations and avoiding the circulation of any information before the completion of legal and judicial proceedings."
For his part, Prime Minister Saad Hariri called for removing Itani’s case from political and media grappling, and to stop using it for purposes that harm the role of the judiciary and security services.
“We should respect and trust the Lebanese judiciary and state security,” Hariri was quoted as saying by his press office.
