Title: "The Progressive Party": Mclloud is Not Innocent of the Crime of Spreading Falsehoods

A statement was issued by the Media Commissioner of the Progressive Socialist Party as follows: To prevent some exploiters from taking advantage of the electoral investment in the decision of the Press Court regarding the complaint by the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, against Hassan Mclloud, we note that the decision, which dismissed the prosecution against Mclloud due to the absence of defamation in his statements, did not absolve him from the crime of spreading false news. The decision indicates that the court did not consider this matter because it was confined to the Public Prosecutor's claim in Mount Lebanon regarding defamation and neglected the accusation of spreading falsehoods and false news. Furthermore, the court did not examine what Hassan Mclloud published on his personal account, believing that it fell outside the jurisdiction of the Press Court and was subject to the provisions of the Penal Code. Therefore, the dismissal of the prosecution against Mclloud for defamation, which was based on his statement confirming that he did not name Walid Jumblatt in the matter of money transfers, does not mean that Mclloud is innocent of the crime of spreading falsehoods. The party will pursue this case and will file an appeal against the decision before the Court of Cassation, as well as a direct complaint before the criminal judiciary for the crime of spreading lies.