Activists assaulted in downtown Beirut for baking MPs a cake

Activists have just been assaulted by Lebanese security forces after they say they had baked a cake to celebrate two and a half years since parliamentarians cancelled elections and reinstated themselves in breech of the constitution.

In this video one of the activists is violently dragged from central Beirut where Parliament is located:

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In this next video LBC reporter Foutoun Raad tries to film the abuse on her phone but is stopped by an army soldier. “I’m a journalist!” she shouts as the officer forcibly lowers her camera.

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In this video, we can see another activist getting roughed up by police:

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LBC reporter Foutoun interviews one of the activists who explains that the police attacked them when they had tried to walk the cake over to parliament, which has failed to solve the country’s sanitation crisis and every other dysfunctioning public service. In fact, parliament rarely meets. The activist describes being slapped in the face by security forces while another well known activist Lucien Bourjeily was also beaten:

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Finally here is a video shot before the assaults took place where the activists are enjoying the cake, presumably before marching it to parliament:

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