BEIRUT: The NBN television station's website was hacked Monday by one "DarkCoder," who claims to represent the "free people of Hama."
The main webpage of the National Broadcasting Network, which is affiliated with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, now features a picture of a poster commemmorating the Hama Massacre of 1982, as well as a condemnation of NBN.
"You hypocritical criminal, your support for the criminal regime makes you a partner in crime with it; that is why I'm telling that you are criminal and despicable with not a shred of humanity," the text on the website read in Arabic.
On Feb 2, Hama residents commemorated the 30th anniversary of the massacre Assad's father carried out during an uprising against his government, killing an estimated 10,000 people.
Berri is considered one of Syria’s main allies in Lebanon along with Hezbollah, and has described the uprising against President Bashar Assad as different from those of Egypt and Libya. He has also warned that Syria is being plotted against.
Berri has voiced his support for an Arab League plan designed to end the 10-month-old crisis, but has rejected the idea of military intervention in the troubled country.
According to activists, more than 5,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the uprising began in mid-March. Assad maintains that the killing in his country is carried out by armed groups.
As Assad grows increasingly isolated by the West and Arab countries, Russia and China remain adamant about blocking any U.N. Security Council resolution against their ally in the Middle East.
On Saturday, both Russia and China vetoed a Security Council Resolution condemning Assad’s lethal crackdown on protesters.
The hacking attack by "DarkCoder" is the first of its kind against a Lebanon-based TV station following former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's blocking the broadcast of a number of Lebanese stations, including NBN, for their coverage of the Libyan uprising against his rule.
In a statement published hours after the website was hacked, NBN described the act as an attack on freedom of expression, vowing to continue supporting the Syria people.
"The management sees this style of piracy as targeting freedom of speech and opinion, and affirms that it will continue carrying out its mission in the media by standing with the Syrian people in the face of the conspiracy targeting their unity," the statement said.