We, journalists and members of journalists’ societies, provide our full support to independent journalist Ariane Lavrilleux, placed in police custody on Tuesday September 19 and Wednesday September 20, and whose home was searched for nearly ten hours, following his revelations in 2021 in the investigative media Disclose on operations of the French army in Egypt. This investigation focused on Operation Sirli, carried out from 2015 by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) on behalf of the dictatorship of Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
The arrest of our colleague as part of a judicial investigation opened for acts of “compromising the secret of national defense” and “revelation of information which could lead to the identification of a protected agent”, following a complaint filed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, represents an unprecedented attack against the protection of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, which constitutes one of the “cornerstones of press freedom”, in the words of the European Court of Human Rights. man.
A priority issue
This extremely serious situation, which takes place in a context of increasing number of procedures against journalists in recent years (summons by the DGSI, attempted search of an editorial office, etc.), must mobilize all those attached to the freedom to inform in France. We therefore call on the Minister of Culture and Information Rima Abdul-Malak and the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron to make strengthening the protection of journalists’ sources and the independence of editorial staff an issue. priority of the “general information statements” which are due to open on October 3.
Every day, in each of our editorial offices, and in the diversity of our editorial lines, our work consists precisely of publishing information based on confidential documents covered by all kinds of secrets, including “defense secrecy” when the Topics relate to the army and the defense sector.
We do this responsibly, by measuring the sensitivity of the material we collect, without sensationalism and respecting the ethical rules that govern our profession, with the sole aim of informing the public on subjects of general interest. Without guarantees for the protection of our sources, it is the very exercise of our profession which is jeopardized.
Signatories : the companies of journalists and editors of AFP, Arrêt sur images, BFM TV, Challenges, Courrier international, Epsiloon, franceinfo.fr, FranceinfoTV, France 3 National editorial team, France Télévisions National editorial team, Indigo Publications, L’Express, L ‘Humanité, L’Informed, L’Obs, L’Usine nouvelle, La Tribune, La Vie, LCI, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Le Parisien, Le Point, Les Echos, Libération, M6, Marianne, Mediapart, NRJ, Paris Match, Public Senate, Premières Lignes, Radio France, RFI, RMC, RTL, Sud Ouest, Télérama, TF1, 60 Millions deconsumers, as well as the Profession: Freelance association.