A Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor said Friday that members of Mashrou’ Leila outside of the country do not have any legal proceedings against them. Public Prosecutor Ghada Aoun told LBCI that she listened to the testimonies of the group, which has been at the center of a controversial issue raised by religious officials in Lebanon. She said they pledged to remove an offensive picture.
This comes after Aoun called members of the band in Wednesday for questioning with State Security over alleged insults to Christianity, but later released them without charge. The band has been asked to remove posts related to Christianity, namely a meme of pop star Madonna’s face superimposed onto that of the Virgin Mary, from its official Facebook page.
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But Friday, in remarks to LBCI, Aoun emphasized that no additional legal procedures could be brought against the group because there was “no additional offense.”
The National News Agency had previously reported that the band had said it was prepared to apologize for songs deemed “offensive to Christianity” and remove them from its set list, amid pressure from religious figures, but had released no official statement by press time.
The reported decision came after a meeting Wednesday in Jbeil with members of the band, organizers of the Byblos International Festival, where the group is set to perform on Aug. 9, and local Christian and Muslim religious officials.
The group is expected to hold a news conference to announce their stance on whether or not they will go ahead with performing at the concert.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
