News from Civsy, based on human monitoring, generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data searchThe Lebanese satirical sitcom “Marhaba Dawle” has rapidly become a revealing test case for the boundaries of media freedom and artistic expression in Lebanon. The show is broadcast on LBCI and follows the daily life of officers in an imaginary police station, using humor to probe the ambiguous relationship between citizens and state institutions. While two full seasons remain available for streaming and a third has been announced, the series has faced a cascade of legal and quasi‑legal actions that illustrate how state and non‑state actors attempt to police televised satire.
State lawsuit and urgent proceedings
In January 2024, the Ministry of Interior initiated an urgent action before the Interim Relief Judge in Beirut, seeking to halt “Marhaba Dawle.” The move followed an episode that mocked the Internal Security Forces and other security‑related bodies. The ministry argued that the broadcast contained insults to the dignity of the state and the prestige of the security forces, grounding its request in Article 604 of the Lebanese Code of Civil Procedure, read together with Articles 589 and 593 on urgent measures and ex parte relief. Rights organisations later underlined the importance of the judge’s decision on 25 January 2024 to reject the request in its entirety, viewing it as a refusal to endorse preventive censorship of satirical content and a modest but concrete affirmation of protections for critical speech.
Interrogation of the producer
Legal and political pressure did not stop with the dismissal of the urgent lawsuit. In April 2024, journalist and producer Firas Hatoum was summoned by Internal Security Forces intelligence because of his role in “Marhaba Dawle.” After questioning, he was released on bail. This episode marked a shift from purely civil litigation to the use of security and intelligence channels, signalling that authorities were willing to rely on the weight of security institutions to intimidate media workers. Monitoring groups noted that such summons, even when they do not lead to formal charges, contribute to a chilling effect on investigative journalism and political satire in a fragile media environment.
Religious complaints and moral panic
In 2025, the initiative passed increasingly to religious and moral actors. In early May, the Catholic Media or Information Center issued a strongly worded statement condemning “Marhaba Dawle” for allegedly violating moral values and attacking heavenly religions, targeting in particular a sketch involving Christian, Druze and Muslim religious figures. The Center accused the show of defamation and contempt toward religious components and called on the competent authorities to issue a stern warning and to stop broadcasting scenes considered offensive. It also urged the Information Minister to intervene and threatened further legal measures against the production company. Almost simultaneously, Dar al‑Fatwa joined the outcry with its own complaint. Together, these interventions demonstrated how Christian and Muslim institutions can converge in restricting humorous depictions of religion, feeding a wider moral panic around televised comedy.
Policy signals and broader implications
Against this backdrop, comments by Information Minister Paul Morcos in February 2025 took on additional weight. The minister spoke of the need to impose controls on media freedom in order to prevent social harm, while insisting rhetorically that freedom itself should be preserved. For media‑freedom advocates, such framing is familiar, as it opens the door to broad discretionary restrictions justified in the name of public morals, religion or social stability. The “Marhaba Dawle” saga therefore goes beyond a single sitcom, it exposes how legal tools, security pressures and religious authority can interact to limit satire, and it underscores the importance of judicial resistance to prior restraint if Lebanon is to maintain any meaningful space for critical, irreverent and politically engaged comedy on mainstream television.
Lebanon’s hit satirical series “Marhaba Dawle” is no longer just a TV show, it has turned into a battlefield over who gets to define the limits of humor, religion and criticism of the state.
The article traces how an urgent lawsuit by the Ministry of Interior, the interrogation of producer Firas Hatoum, and coordinated complaints from Christian and Muslim institutions have tried to restrict the show’s reach.
The piece looks at what the 2024 court decision rejecting a ban means in practice, how security summons are used to intimidate media workers, and why religiously framed “moral panic” is becoming a powerful tool of informal censorship.
For those following artistic freedom and media regulation in Lebanon and the wider MENA region, this case offers a sharp lens on the future of political satire.
#ArtisticFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #Lebanon #MediaFreedom #Censorship #Satire #HumanRights #MENA #MarhabaDawle #MimetaMemos
References:
L’Orient-Le Jour, “Lebanese judiciary dismisses Lebanese state’s summons against LBCI TV channel”, 25 January 2024.[today.lorientlejour]
Kataeb.org, “Lebanese State Files a Lawsuit Against LBCI: Marhaba Dawle”, 24 January 2024.[en.kataeb]
SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, “International Law Assessment of LBCI’s ‘Marhaba Dawle’ Show Case”, 6 September 2025.[skeyesmedia]
L’Orient-Le Jour, “Catholic Information Center opposes the series ‘Marhaba Dawle’”, 8 May 2025.[today.lorientlejour]
L’Orient-Le Jour, “Complaint against ‘Marhaba Dawleh’: Humor and the sacred still do not mix in Lebanon”, 14 May 2025.[today.lorientlejour]
LBCI, “Firas Hatoum summoned: The ongoing legal saga surrounding LBCI’s ‘Marhaba’”, 26 January 2025.[lbcgroup]
SKeyes Facebook post summarising the January 2024 ruling in favour of “Marhaba Dawle”.[facebook]
Amnesty International, “Lebanon: End use of defamation laws to target journalists and critics”, 2 May 2024 (section on the Marhaba Dawle lawsuit).[amnesty]
