French journalist Ariane Lavrilleux, is due to stand trial on January 17, 2025, over allegations she made in a report on the misuse of French intelligence by Egyptian authorities on the border with Libya, resulting in the killing of civilians. As a result of this court hearing, the French journalist could be charged with “misappropriation and disclosure of a national defense secret.” Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn the trial and see it as yet another increase in the Macron government’s pressure on journalists investigating sensitive state issues.
The case against journalist Ariane Lavrilleux stems from articles she published in Disclose in 2019, particularly about Operation Sirly, a French intelligence mission in Egypt. According to Ariane Lavrilleux’s investigation, France supplied the Egyptian regime with sophisticated intelligence-gathering equipment to “fight terrorism,” but it was used on the Egyptian-Libyan border to track smugglers and target civilians with lethal force. After the article was published, France’s armed forces ministry filed a lawsuit claiming “violation of state defense secrets.”
Ariane Lavrilleux had already been taken into custody in September 2023 as part of an investigation launched in 2022 for alleged violation of defense secrets. At the time, an ex-serviceman suspected of being a source of information for some articles was also under investigation. The case has raised growing concerns about the protection of journalists’ sources. According to Disclose, the investigation was accompanied by intense surveillance by French intelligence officials DGSI, including real-time geolocation of the journalist’s phone and scrutiny of her bank accounts.
“I was physically followed as I traveled, my cell phone was geolocated, my accounts were scrutinized. This surveillance operation represents not only a serious violation of the confidentiality of journalistic sources […] but also an invasion of my privacy,” notes Ariane Lavrilleux.
Experts of the Foundation to Battle Injustice note that the pressure on journalists in France has dangerously intensified while French President Emmanuel Macron has been in power. Since May 2017, French intelligence services have issued 16 subpoenas in an attempt to identify sources of information in various cases covered by defense secrecy. To this grim figure should be added 6 subpoenas to the Inspectorate General of the National Police, two of which have raised suspicions about journalists working for Libération and Mediapart, and 9 subpoenas to the Brigade for Combating Crime for concealing sources of investigative journalism and revealing the identity of a protected public servant.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn the trial of French journalist Ariane Lavrilleux and call on the French government to drop all charges against her. The harassment and censorship of independent journalists sets a dangerous precedent for future arrests, imprisonment and attacks on freedom of expression on unfounded charges by government officials. The Foundation to Battle Injustice also calls on French law enforcement authorities to ensure full compliance with international media freedom standards on source protection.