(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Minister of Justice Elisabeth Guigou, RSF stated its concern over the detention of journalist Hubert Levet following his investigation of the company Aérospatiale-Matra. RSF warned the French authorities against revealing the journalist’s confidential sources, recalling the position of the European Court of Human Rights, which considers confidential sources […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Minister of Justice Elisabeth Guigou, RSF stated its concern over the detention of journalist Hubert Levet following his investigation of the company Aérospatiale-Matra. RSF warned the French authorities against revealing the journalist’s confidential sources, recalling the position of the European Court of Human Rights, which considers confidential sources to be the “cornerstone of democracy”.
On December 14 1999, according to information obtained by RSF, Hubert Levet, a regular contributor to the economics daily “AGEFI” (Agence économique et financière) was detained following a complaint against X by the directors of Aérospatiale-Matra for “divulging confidential financial information”. The journalist was held for questioning, then examined by a preliminary judge of the High Court of Paris before being released. He was allegedly prohibited from contacting his editors. On the same day, the financial squad searched the offices of “AGEFI”. This occurred following “AGEFI”‘s 21 September publication of an official document presenting Aérospatiale-Matra’s semi-annual accounts.
