PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Libya: Centre for Press Freedom denounces jailing of journalist
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) – The Libyan Centre for Press Freedom has denounced the five-year jail term slapped by a Tripoli court on a journalist, Amara Abdallah al-Khitabi, for defamation against magistrates.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Centre expressed “huge disappointment” at the verdict, adding that the decision represented a breach to press freedom and a worrying sign of the courts to limit freedom of the media.
A Tripoli tribunal on Thursday jailed al-Khitabi, chief editor of the private newspaper Al-Oumma, for releasing a list of 87 names of lawyers and prosecutors who were corrupted under the regime of ousted leader Mouamar Kadhafi.
He was then deprived of all his civic rights and further sentenced to pay a fine 250,000 Libyan dinars.
The Centre said it was willing to provide judicial support to Mr al-Khitabi to appeal against the "unjust sentence" and called for the internationalization of the case before foreign human rights and other organizations.
It called on all journalists and media professionals, as well as the human rights bodies, to intensify the fight to anchor media and press freedom into the Libyan society, and prevent such heavy sentences against journalists and media professionals.
-0- PANA BY/TBM/SOC/MSA/MA 21Nov2014
In a press release issued on Friday, the Centre expressed “huge disappointment” at the verdict, adding that the decision represented a breach to press freedom and a worrying sign of the courts to limit freedom of the media.
A Tripoli tribunal on Thursday jailed al-Khitabi, chief editor of the private newspaper Al-Oumma, for releasing a list of 87 names of lawyers and prosecutors who were corrupted under the regime of ousted leader Mouamar Kadhafi.
He was then deprived of all his civic rights and further sentenced to pay a fine 250,000 Libyan dinars.
The Centre said it was willing to provide judicial support to Mr al-Khitabi to appeal against the "unjust sentence" and called for the internationalization of the case before foreign human rights and other organizations.
It called on all journalists and media professionals, as well as the human rights bodies, to intensify the fight to anchor media and press freedom into the Libyan society, and prevent such heavy sentences against journalists and media professionals.
-0- PANA BY/TBM/SOC/MSA/MA 21Nov2014
