BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:55 A.M.) – Beirut’s First Investigative Judge, Ghassan Oueidat, issued an arrest warrant in absentia for journalist Maria Maalouf, Thursday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported this morning.

According to the report released by NNA, Judge Oueidat issued the arrest warrant after it was found that Maalouf slandered and defamed Hezbollah’s General Secretary, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on several occasions.

In addition to the charges of defamation and slander, Maalouf is facing charges of inciting violence against the Hezbollah leader.

Maalouf has been a staunch critic of Hezbollah’s role in the region and Sayyed Nasrallah, often blaming the organization for the Lebanon’s problems.