(RSF/IFEX) – On 24 May 2004, Philippe Brunet-Lecomte, publication director of the monthly magazine “Lyon Mag”, was indicted on the charge of “defending a criminal act”, following the publication of an interview with Abdelkader Bouziane, an imam from Vénissieux, near Lyon, who defended, among other things, the stoning of women. In a letter to Justice […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 24 May 2004, Philippe Brunet-Lecomte, publication director of the monthly magazine “Lyon Mag”, was indicted on the charge of “defending a criminal act”, following the publication of an interview with Abdelkader Bouziane, an imam from Vénissieux, near Lyon, who defended, among other things, the stoning of women.
In a letter to Justice Minister Dominique Perben, RSF expressed its concern over the charge, saying, “To confuse the hateful language of the imam with the reporter who gathered it and brought it to his readers will have dangerous implications for the freedom to inform in France, a country where press laws are among the most archaic in the European Union. The charge of ‘defending a criminal act’ must be used with extreme caution, if it is not to serve as a tool to censor.”
A Lyon court indicted Brunet-Lecomte as part of a judicial inquiry that opened on 28 April, on the order of the justice minister. The inquiry is looking into comments Bouziane reportedly made during a 3 April interview with “Lyon Mag”, in which the imam justified, among other things, polygamy and the stoning of women. The interview was conducted as part of a special series entitled, “Islamic Fundamentalism: Lyon Suburbs Infected”.
Bouziane has returned to France after being expelled to Algeria on 21 April. He will appear before the court on 3 June. Brunet-Lecomte intends to appeal the decision.
