Mashnouq Calls Uber Unsafe as Drivers Stage Protest

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq warned on Wednesday against using Uber after a driver for the ride-hailing service was arrested in connection with the murder of a British woman who worked at the U.K. Embassy.

Mashnouq said the driver had a criminal record, without elaborating, but said that should have been an alarm for anyone seeking to hire him. Mashnouq urged Lebanese to use "traditional" taxis, saying Uber is a "virtual" entity that has no physical representation.

"I urge all Lebanese not to use this means (of transport) because we don't consider it safe," he said. "Dealing with Uber is risky and it is better we return to traditional ways."

A number of Uber drivers meanwhile blocked a road under the Ring bridge in Beirut “to protest the designation of their firm as illegal,” the National News Agency said.

Mashnouq's comments come on a particularly bad day for the San Francisco-based company. The European Union's top court dealt Uber a blow, ruling Wednesday that the ride-hailing company should be regulated like a taxi company and not a technology service.

The ruling is likely to result in stricter regulations on the company. The ride-hailing company has had a particularly bad year, in which it has faced a slew of legal cases in Europe, Britain and the United States over licensing and security checks of its registered drivers.

Mashnouq was speaking at a public dinner organized by the municipality of Beirut, where Uber is popular among the expatriate community as well as internet-connected young Lebanese, and provided a competitive edge to the traditional taxis in the congested city.

An Nahar newspaper said in a report Wednesday that the 29-year-old driver was sentenced to six months in prison 10 years ago for stealing a motorcycle.

Uber drivers in Lebanon must be licensed taxi drivers. The company says it enrolls drivers with no criminal record but it is not clear if it runs its own security checks.

Also, according to Lebanese law, one's criminal record can be cleared after a certain amount of years. One legal expert told a local daily that crimes less severe than murder can be erased after three years.

The U.S.-based Uber said it was "horrified" by the killing of British diplomat Rebecca Dykes, whose body was found Saturday on the side of a road, strangled and showing signs of sexual assault. Uber said it was assisting in the investigation.

Also on Wednesday, a Lebanese court ordered news websites to remove pictures of Dykes' body, saying circulating them constitutes a violation of the sanctity of the dead. Websites would be fined over $3,000 for every hour they delay removing the pictures.