Dima Sadek in court in Beirut on November 4, 2015, as she prepares to appear before court in connection with a complaint filed by Hezbollah. (Credit: Patrick Baz/AFP)
A journalist, in this case our colleague Dima Sadek, has just been sentenced by a criminal court to a year's imprisonment for a crime of opinion. Through this appeal, we, a group of Lebanese media agencies— print, broadcast and digital — wish to express our indignation at what we consider to be a particularly harsh and unjustified verdict, and a judgment that confirms the existence of a observed drift over the past few years by Lebanese authorities towards the “legal” stifling of freedoms. It is a very sad development indeed, in a country that has long prided itself on being a beacon for the promotion and defense of these freedoms in a region swarming with repressive governments of all kinds. All the more so as the vast communication space now offered by the Internet requires a more precise and equitable approach to the notion of “crime of opinion.”
In this text, we wish to emphasize three essential points:
Firstly, it is not our intention to comment on the merits of the case and in particular, on whether or not the journalist in question has committed a legally reprehensible act that merits punishment. Our concern here is simply to point out that the sentence handed down is unusually severe for this type of offense, which in itself confirms the untimely hardening of the authorities’ attitude towards the issue of freedoms: a trend we condemn in every aspect.
Secondly, Lebanon has an adequate judicial framework for press offenses or defamation committed by journalists and media workers. This is the Publications Court. We note that, thanks to often subjective or even abusive interpretations of certain procedural rules, it is increasingly common to see cases of this type being referred to criminal courts. In the spirit of the law, this is very often a clear violation of the principle behind the creation of the Publications Court, which is undoubtedly aimed at protecting freedom of expression rather than criminalizing it.
Thirdly, we believe that the harsh verdict handed down in this case is all the more unjustified and absurd as it comes at a time when Lebanon is becoming a land of impunity, and this is happening most clearly before the eyes of the Lebanese and the international community. From aborted or obstructed investigations, particularly into crimes of terrifying magnitude (whether political assassinations, financial crimes or the tragedy of Aug. 4, 2020) to judgments that no one cares to execute; from unfulfilled warrants to quarrels undermining the judiciary, from the daily violation of the constitution to the never-ending breakdown of the rule of law at every level, Lebanon and its justice system offer a sorry spectacle in which the verdict in question takes on the proportions of a tragic farce.
In the face of this new outrage on the part of the public authorities, we express our utter indignation and firmly and insistently demand that measures be taken immediately to reverse the course of events and work to recreate a protective framework for freedom of opinion and expression in this country.
Signed,
LBCI, MTV, New TV, Al Nahar, Nida al Watan, Al Joumhouria, Al Modon, Al Markazia, Voice of Lebanon, L’Orient- Le Jour, L’Orient Today, Lebanon Files.
