(MENAFN) Lebanese authorities have detained a former Lebanese security official after allegedly framing an actor in a revenge scheme falsely linked him to Israel.
Suzan Hajj Hobeiche was once a leading figure in Lebanon's intelligence agency but was sacked in November.
Lebanese actor and writer Ziad Itani shared a screenshot showing that Hobeiche had "liked" a tweet that said that Saudi women will only be allowed to drive if their vehicles are rigged with explosives.
Hobeiche claimed this was a mistake and blamed Itani for her dismissal, which came amid heightened tensions between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and then allegedly attempted to take revenge by hiring a hacker to make it appear the actor was passing on information about Lebanese officials to a female Israeli Mossad agent.
Itani is expected to be released shortly after Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouk confirmed the actor's innocence on Twitter.
"All Lebanese apologise for Ziad Itani. Innocence is not enough. Pride in him and his patriotism is the only undisputed truth. Woe to the haters, the ignorant, the sectarians who couldn't find a target more honourable, the true Beiruti and Arab who never betrayed his country."
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