Lebanese activist and Hezbollah critic Lukman Slim shot dead

Al-Monitor Staff

A protester holds a picture of slain prominent Lebanese activist and intellectual Lokman Slim during a rally in front of the Justice Palace in the capital, Beirut, on Feb. 4, 2021, the day he was found dead in his car in the country's south. The placard reads in Arabic, "Who killed Lokman, who blew up the port, who killed [former Prime Minister) Rafik Hariri, [journalist] Gibran Toueini, [author] Samir Kassir, ... the party of terror, the party of Satan." — AFP via Getty Images

A prominent Lebanese intellectual and Hezbollah critic was found shot dead in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Lokman Slim was visiting friends in the area Wednesday and was due to travel back to Beirut that night. Police found his body in his car near the town of Addoussieh. He received several close-range gunshots, the Lebanese news outlet Naharnet reported.

Slim was a known activist from Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim community. He regularly criticized the Lebanese Shiite political and military organization Hezbollah and mocked the group on social media.

Slim’s family was concerned about him in the hours leading up to the discovery of his body. His wife, German film director Monika Borgmann, tweeted that he had not been answering his phone.

Lebanese activist and Hezbollah critic Lukman Slim shot dead

Slim was shot while visiting southern Lebanon. The government has vowed an investigation amid speculation on Hezbollah's alleged involvement.

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