The charges against Dergham stem from
her participation in a May 19, 2000,
panel discussion sponsored by the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy in Washington,
DC. The panel included Uri Lubrani, formerly
the Israeli government's coordinator
of activities in southern Lebanon. The
discussion focused on Middle East politics,
with special reference to Syria, Lebanon
and Israel.
CPJ
has learned that the military indictment
accused Dergham of being "a participant
as a journalist in a debate that was
arranged by a member of the enemy at
the Washington Institute for Near Eastern
Policy." It added that "her
act constituted a crime based on Article
278 of the Penal Code."
At the June 1 session, the military
court adjourned until November 30 in
order to give Dergham the opportunity
to appear before the court, Agence France-Presse
reported. CPJ's sources argue that the
ongoing harassment of Dergham, including
these latest charges, is a response to
her critical coverage last year of Lebanon's
ongoing dispute with the U.N. over the
demarcation of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
"These charges are absurd," said
CPJ Middle East program coordinator Joe
Campagna. "We view the treason case
against Dergham as part of a pattern
of state harassment intended to punish
an independent journalist for doing her
job. The government of Lebanon has shown
contempt for press freedom and the free
public debate that is essential in a
democratic society. The charges should
be dropped, and Dergham should be free
to work without further harassment."
On June 19, 2000, one month after the
Washington panel, Lebanese authorities
seized Dergham's Lebanese passport when
she arrived at Beirut Airport with United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan,
who was on a tour of several Middle East
countries. When the passport was returned
before her scheduled departure the following
day, it had been cancelled. The cancellation
stamp stated specifically that the passport
could not be renewed without the approval
of the General Directorate for Internal
Security. Security officials gave no
reason for their actions at the time,
but later announced that Derghan had
violated Lebanese law prohibiting contacts
between Lebanese citizens and Israelis.
CPJ protested the harassment of Dergham
in a July 7 letter to Lebanese president
Emile Lahoud. Later that month, Lebanon's
ambassador to the UN informed Secretary
General Annan's office that President
Lahoud had reversed the cancellation
of Dergham's passport. But Lebanese officials
recently refused to grant Dergham a new
passport on the grounds that the ban
was still in effect.
The Committee to Protect Journalists
is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
dedicated to the defense of press freedom
everywhere.
