Charges against Disclose journalist Ariane Lavrilleux for violations of national defence secrets have been withdrawn. The Egypt Papers investigation she contributed to is “in the public interest,” the judiciary ruled. Disclose and some 100 organisations are now calling for a reform of the 2010 law on protection of the confidentiality of sources.
Our journalist Ariane Lavrilleux is expected in the Paris court on January 17, 2025, which could lead to her indictment. The French state backlash against investigative media Disclose is reaching new heights.
In a ruling handed down on July 19, the Montreuil administrative court refused to allow Disclose, Amnesty International France and The European center for constitutional and human rights access to customs documents relating to French arms shipments to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which are suspected of crimes against humanity in Yemen. The three associations have decided to appeal to the highest administrative Court in France.
On Tuesday 19 September, journalist Ariane Lavrilleux was taken into custody and her home searched by the DGSI. The aim of this unacceptable attack on freedom of the press was to identify Disclose’s sources, who helped to reveal the military operation “Sirli”, carried out by France in Egypt on behalf of the dictatorship.
