France: Ariane Lavrilleux Faces Potential Jail Time for Investigative Reporting, WPF Demands Her Acquittal
December 3, 2024 - France, Paris
Credit: Marie Rouge / Libération
Disclose's Ariane Lavrilleux summoned to court next month over her investigation into a secret French military operation in Egypt, which exposed the arbitrary execution of hundreds of civilians.
The journalist is being accused of the “appropriation and disclosure of a national defense secret.” She faces a potential 5-year prison sentence and a €75k fine if convicted.
Lavrilleux has already endured unjust arrest and extensive surveillance by French intelligence, including phone tracking and scrutiny of her personal communications. This case is part of a disturbing pattern of state attacks on investigative journalists in France, undermining press freedom and the protection of journalistic sources.
Women Press Freedom firmly denounces the bogus charge against Lavrilleux and calls for her acquittal. The pressure on Disclose and Lavrilleux for exposing the wrongdoings of the French military is unjust and appears to be a deliberate attempt to silence and intimidate independent investigative journalists. Authorities must respect journalists' rights to report and end their targeting of the press.
The journalist is being accused of the “appropriation and disclosure of a national defense secret.” She faces a potential 5-year prison sentence and a €75k fine if convicted.
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Women Press Freedom condemns this harassment and calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately halt these practices and uphold press freedom.
