Lebanon 'liberal' for Mideast, but gays still targeted Lebanon has a reputation as the most liberal country in the conservative Middle East, but even a night on the town for gays can end in arrest and humiliating sexuality "tests". They might be less persecuted than elsewhere in the region, but outside a few areas of the capital Beirut, Lebanese homosexuals are largely stigmatised and discriminated against. A natural sound version of an AFPTV report.