Al-Jadeed pleads not guilty in STL "contempt" case, Al-Akhbar session postponed

Lebanon's Al-Jadeed TV and its deputy director Karma Khayat on Tuesday pleaded "not guilty" after being charged with obstruction of justice and contempt by an international court set up to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) last month announced that it had charged Al-Jadeed's deputy director Karma Khayat, Al-Akhbar's editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin and their media companies for publishing a list of the prosecution's witnesses.

Amin's session was postponed to May 29 after the contempt judge granted his request for more time to prepare his defense. But Amin warned he may also choose not to attend the May 29 session if he is unable to assemble a proper defense counsel.

Khayat was present in court Tuesday with her legal team as a judge read the charges against her.

"I came here before you in order to confront charges that touch my core principles and the principles of all journalists. Seeking the truth is a sacred right under all international conventions that guarantee the freedom of the press," Khayat told the court.

"I came here because the Lebanese people deserve the right to see a fair trial being conducted and instead of being used as a tool to terrorize the press," she added.

"I came here today because my government, instead of holding me accountable before the Lebanese courts, and instead of prosecuting me, my government unfortunately is used by outside forces. It relinquishes its sovereignty, and [in 2005] replaced Syrian tutelage with an international one."

Khayat, Al-Jadeed TV, and its parent company New TV SAL have each been charged with two counts of contempt and obstruction of justice over the broadcasting of reports in 2012 on potential STL witnesses.

The judge accused Khayat of instructing Al-Jadeed journalist Rami al-Amin to meet with purported witnesses that had been contacted by STL investigators with the prosecution team and learn what information the witnesses provided them with.

The results of Al-Jadeed's investigation were broadcast in five episodes in August 2012 before being uploaded to their website and YouTube channel.

"On August 10, 2012, the [STL] ordered Al Jadeed to remove any confidential information related to the trial from their websites," but the orders were ignored, the judge told the court Tuesday.

"Khayat knew that broadcasting the episodes would undermine public confidence in the STL to protect the confidentiality of witnesses. Khayat knew that the failure to remove them violated the orders of the STL."

According to the charges, Amin and Khayat "knowingly and willfully interfer[ed] with the administration of justice by broadcasting and/or publishing information on purported confidential witnesses."

Karim Khan, defense lawyer for Khayat and Al-Jadeed, told the court that this case was the first time in history an international tribunal indicts a legal company over criminal charges, insisting that the prosecution "got it wrong."

He also urged the prosecution to clarify if it was charging Al-Jadeed TV or its parent company, New TV SAL, in the case.

Khan told media after the session was adjourned outside the court that he expected the defendants would be acquitted of all charges.

"I am looking forward to seeing what evidence the prosecution has, or clearly doesn't have," he said. "We except the defendants to be acquitted."

"What we see is an endemic problem that has infected the prosecutor where they don't even get the charges correct," Khan added. "For the first time in history a company is charged with criminal responsibility. That's never been done with any international court before."

Khan also announced his intention to file a motion to challenge the court's jurisdiction in charging companies.

Earlier, the court's contempt judge Nicola Lettieri said the charges against the media organization were "not concerned with their criticisms of the STL and its work," but related to the alleged interference in the courts proceedings.

Judge Lettieri ordered the prosecution to disclose all its evidence to the defense team, which said it had yet to receive a single document.

The prosecution pledged to transfer its material to the defense by May 30. The judge then adjourned Tuesday's session after setting June 16 as the date for Al-Jadeed to file its preliminary motions.

Amin chose not to participate in afternoon sessions scheduled for him and the newspaper after the STL failed to respond to the paper's request last week to postpone the session.

In court, the registrar explained that Amin's e-mail requests for more time were sent to the wrong inbox, and were only discovered on Monday.

The head of the STL defense office Francois Roux, who has been assisting Al-Akhbar with the case, told the judge that Amin was merely asking for his rights to assemble a defense counsel of his choosing and enough time to mount a proper defense.

Judge Lettieri granted the request for extension, setting the new date for Amin's appearance before the court to May 29 before adjourning Tuesday's session. But Amin announced immediately after the session that he wasn't able to assemble a robust defense counsel he may skip that session too.

"If i wasn't able by May 29 to have a defense team that I feel comfortable with, I'm telling you from now that I'm not going to attend the May 29 session," he said.

The charges against Amin and Al-Akhbar relate to the paper's decision in January 2013 to publish the names of 32 witnesses belonging to the STL's prosecution.

In televised remarks, Amin said he stood by the paper's decision to publish the witness list, and rejected the legitimacy of the STL, which he maintains was created in violation of the Lebanon's constitution and international law through its "mandate ... to impose its power on all Lebanese institutions and authorities."

"Al-Jadeed and Al-Akhbar have adopted different strategies. Al-Jadeed decided to attend, though that doesn't mean that they believe in the court's legitimacy, and their presence is of course useful," Amin said.

"However Al-Akhbar decided not to attend because we don't even believe in the legitimacy of the court and its decisions in the first place."

"We asked for time so that we can make arrangements concerning the defense mechanism to make sure we have all the required documents and were ready to defend ourselves."

Amin joined other journalists and supporters of press freedom who gathered at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut to denounce the STL's charges against Al-Akhbar and Al-Jadeed.

"I do not expect much support from the Lebanese authorities," Amin told the crowd during a recess in Khayat's morning session.

"Al-Akhbar and Al-Jadeed are locked in a serious battle in the defense of freedom in Lebanon and the Arab world, and the problem lies in the Lebanese state that allows these abuses against the press," he said.

"The international community acts according to its interests, and the Lebanese media's interests today are to strengthen the laws and delegitimize this court."

If found guilty, Khayat and Amin could face up to seven years in prison and be fined up to 100,000 euros.

Al-Jadeed and Al-Akhbar have received the full backing of Lebanon's Press Syndicate, the Media and Telecommunications Committee in Parliament, and top political figures including former Prime Minister Najib Mikati who called on the STL not to get distracted from following through with its stated mission of uncovering who killed Hariri.

Related