The Lebanese judiciary has officially closed the case against popular artist Ragheb Alama, stemming from a fabricated audio recording attributed to him during the recent conflict in Lebanon. This decision comes after an interrogation session that conclusively proved his innocence of the charges.
During a session held at the Palace of Justice in Beirut, Judge Mirna Kallas declared that the audio recording, which had caused widespread controversy on social media, was “completely fabricated.” This finding prompted the plaintiff to withdraw their complaint and officially close the case, according to a statement from Alama’s media office.
Ragheb Alama’s lawyer, Marc Habaka, stated that his client had proven his innocence with both legal and technical evidence, including precise voice analyses. Habaka also noted that Alama’s personal presence at the session played a crucial role in clarifying the circumstances to the court.
The case originated from an audio recording purported to be a “damaging phone call” between Ragheb Alama and artist Abdullah Bilkhair. It was later revealed that the recording was fabricated using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Abdullah Bilkhair clarified on Snapchat that he too was a victim of a technical deception, believing the call was genuine despite a long period of no communication between him and Alama.
Ragheb Alama had previously denied the authenticity of the recording on the X platform (formerly Twitter), asserting his intention to take legal action against those who had falsified his voice, describing the call as “fabricated and unethical.”
With the closure of the file, the highly publicized case, which generated significant controversy in media circles and on social media, has been resolved. The incident has also sparked calls for stricter regulation of AI technologies to prevent their misuse in distorting facts.