STL Going ahead with Contempt Cases against Al-Akhbar, Al-Jadeed
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Contempt Judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has ordered initial appearances on Tuesday, May 13 of the accused in the case against New TV S.A.L. and Karma Khayat, and of the Accused in the case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and Ibrahim al-Amin, announced the STL in a statement on Wednesday.
“The two journalists and two media organizations were charged with contempt before the tribunal for knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice,” it added.
As stated by the Contempt Judge in the summons, the accused may decide either to come to the seat of the tribunal or to make their initial appearance by video-conference, provided that counsel attends in person.
The hearings will be public, but the judge may decide to go into closed session if confidential matters need to be discussed, said the STL statement.
The hearings can be followed live on the STL website in Arabic. English and French.
New TV S.A.L. and Khayat, the network's deputy news and political program manager, are charged with “knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice by broadcasting and/or publishing information on purported confidential witnesses” and “knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice by failing to remove from al-Jadeed TV’s website and al-Jadeed TV’s YouTube channel information on purported confidential witnesses.”
Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and al-Amin, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, are charged with “knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice by publishing information on purported confidential witnesses in the Ayyash et al. Case.”
In April last year, a list of 167 names of so-called witnesses for the former premier Rafik Hariri trial was published by a previously unknown group identified as "Journalists for the Truth".
The group said it wanted to "unveil the corruption" of the STL.
Both al-Akhbar and al-Jadeed published the list.
The STL's spokesperson Marten Youssef explained recently that the journalists' trial will take place before an independent judge.
Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said of the summons: “Investigations with al-Jadeed and al-Akhbar will prove their innocence.”
He warned the two journalists of failing to appear before the STL's hearing, saying: “This move will lead to repercussions including the issuance of arrest warrants.”
Several lawmakers voiced their solidarity with the journalists and slammed the STL for its actions.
Hizbullah's MP Hassan Fadlallah said that the move is an assault on the freedom of the Lebanese, warning: “Any journalist uncovering the corruption of the tribunal will have the same fate as al-Khayat and al-Amin.”
The STL, established at Lebanon's request, seeks to try five members of Hizbullah for the attack that killed former PM Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005, in Beirut.
M.T.
S.D.B.
07 May 2014, 19:45
39
orange momo- freedom of the press comes with responsibility. They knowingly put people's lives in danger and were complicit in intimidating those witnesses and any other witness that was not leaked. you can pass the blame on others all you want but the fact of the matter is they are being held accountable for THEIR actions. I suggest you go look up the word responsibility and get a good understanding of its meaning. You and the rest of the HA seem to always disregard it.
07 May 2014, 19:51
36
does your world come crashing down when someone points out all the terrorist acts orchestrated by your "freedom of expression" defenders?
07 May 2014, 20:37
36
FT- not sure if you are talking to me or not. I never have considered the president as M14 or M8. I support him on the things I agree with and appose him on the things I disagree. He does not make a choice for me. As for the high horse thingy farce. That is nothing more than wishful thinking on your part because you cannot accept the alternative. They are trying terrorists that have terrorized Lebanon. You know, the country you love!
07 May 2014, 23:26
13
Crusher - that is what the court is trying to find out. Who leaked the list! Nothing abnormal about the process being followed by the court.
08 May 2014, 04:08
23
apparently flamethrower is very smart and loyal to one of the known sectarians and fakes on this forum and for this reason he had to post a very smart comment.
