Three journalists from Libération were summoned by the Lille judicial police on Thursday, September 21, regarding a series of articles produced in the North. The organization Reporters Without Borders speaks of “very worrying signals” in the exercise of the journalistic profession.
“It’s similar logic.” as for the custody of Ariane Lavrilleux, journalist at Disclose. The summons by the police of three journalists from Libération “represents a new episode in attempts to intimidate journalists, to identify their sources”estimates Friday September 22 on franceinfo Pavol Szalais, head of the Europe/Balkans desk within Reporters Without Borders.
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“In this new Libération case, journalists are considered suspects, it’s worrying”, he adds. Ismaël Halissat, Fabien Leboucq and Antoine Schirer were summoned Thursday September 21 “to be heard as suspects under the free hearing regime by the criminal brigade of the Lille judicial police”in fact indicated the newspaper.
At the origin of their summons: the “publication of a series of articles on the death of Amine Leknoun, killed by a BAC police officer, in Neuville-en-Ferrain (North)”. The prosecution retained the grounds for the offense of “violation of the secrecy of the investigation”, “concealment of violation of the secrecy of the investigation” and “public defamation based on the function or quality of depositary of authority public.
“Very worrying signals”
Whether it is Ariane Lavrilleux, or the three reporters from Libération, they are “very worrying signals” Who “Are sent”warns Pavol Szalais. “Journalists must not give in to this pressure”, he insists. RSF, for its part, “will continue to promote solutions, including for example sanctions for violations of the protection of the secrecy of sources”.
“We must also broaden this field of protection [du secret des sources] to other members of the editorial staff” as “the documentarians”. “We must above all remove this extremely vague notion of ‘overriding imperative of public interest’ which allows this abuse of procedure, as in the case of Ariane Lavrilleux”he still pleads, before the launch on October 3 of the States General of Information.
Article 2 of the law of July 29, 1881 on freedom of the press provides that“the secrecy of sources may be directly or indirectly undermined only if an overriding imperative of public interest justifies it and if the measures envisaged are strictly necessary and proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued”.