Protesters take to the streets tonight

byHabib Battah
Jun 20, 2013

It’s been a harrowing day in downtown Beirut. Young people protesting the cancelation of elections and the extension of Parliament’s term were beaten back by police today with sticks. Now they have set up tents and vow to stay down all night.

I’m heading back there now. Follow me on Twitter for more pictures and updates .

Habib Battah

Habib Battah is an investigative journalist and founder of the news site beirutreport.com. Battah has covered Lebanon and the Middle East for over 15 years and teaches journalism and media studies at the American University of Beirut. He is a contributor to Monocle, The Guardian, BBC World, Al Jazeera and others, a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and two-time recipient of the Samir Kassir Press Freedom Award. Battah's investigative work was recently recognized for outstanding local reporting by the Columbia University Oakes Award for Environmental Reporting. Battah earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in Near East Studies and Journalism from New York University.