A judge of freedoms and detention will rule on Wednesday on the validity of the seizures made at the home of journalist Ariane Lavrilleux as part of an investigation into breaches of defense secrecy of which the media Disclose is accused, declared Monday 25 September, to Agence France-Presse his lawyer, Virginie Marquet. The two women appeared Monday morning at the Paris judicial court for this hearing, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse.
On Tuesday September 19, the home of journalist Ariane Lavrilleux was searched by agents of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), then Ms. Lavrilleux was questioned at Marseille police headquarters.
These procedures result from the investigation, opened in July 2022 after two complaints filed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, for compromising national defense secrets and revealing information that could lead to the identification of a protected agent. After thirty-nine hours in police custody, the journalist was released – without prosecution for the moment.
“Victim and privileged witness”
In November 2021, Disclose is publishing a series of five investigations called “The Terror Memos.” The revelations, of which Ariane Lavrilleux is the co-author, relate to the French intelligence operation “Sirli”. Documents classified confidential-defense in support, the investigative media reveals that this French mission in Egypt, started in February 2016 for the fight against terrorism, was hijacked by Cairo, which used the information collected to carry out air attacks on suspected smugglers’ vehicles on the Egyptian-Libyan border.
During a press conference organized at the offices of Reporters Without Borders, Ariane Lavrilleux considered herself “both a victim and a privileged witness to a misuse of France’s anti-terrorist resources. Several agents were mobilized for several months to track down our sources.”
A former official of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, whom the courts seem to consider as one of the sources of articles published by Disclose, was indicted on Thursday for misappropriation and disclosure of national defense secrets by its depositary, two offenses punishable by ‘imprisonment of seven years and a fine of 1 million euros, and placed under judicial supervision.
Questioned at the end of the council of ministers on Wednesday, Olivier Véran, government spokesperson, assured that he was not “evading things”, but refused to communicate the government’s position on this subject to journalists. Contacted by Le Monde on Thursday September 21, the Elysée, Matignon, the army headquarters, the ministries of justice and the interior did not respond.
