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Aoun slams judiciary over 'politicized' OTV lawsuit

16 June 2010

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun lashed out at Lebanon’s judiciary on Tuesday saying that the institution has become “politicized and untrustworthy.”

Aoun was speaking after the FPM-affiliated OTV was hit with a lawsuit over promotional material that it aired for an episode of a comedy show.

“We were the first ones to defend the judiciary and to call for the freedom of the Lebanese judiciary but it is not independent,” Aoun told reporters after a meeting of his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc held at the premises of OTV in Mekalles, East Beirut.

The bloc held its weekly meeting at the OTV offices to protest against large fines imposed on the channel by the Beirut Court of Urgent Matters. During the bloc’s meeting a large banner, which read “The OTV Case: Yes for the Freedom of the Judiciary, No for Abolishing Freedoms,” was erected.

“We don’t trust the judiciary, and our meeting today was meant to highlight inaccuracies in the legal proceedings,” Aoun said. He added that the lawsuit against the television station was “unfounded and has political undertones.”

The FPM leader said the judiciary had “politicized” the case, adding that in Lebanon crimes were “protected.”

The court’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by chairman of Societe Generale de Banque au Liban Antoine Sehnaoui after he claimed that previews of one of the channel’s comedy shows “Ovrira” poked fun at him. OTV ended up not airing the show but the previews were leaked onto video-sharing site YouTube.

In late February, two people were wounded during an exchange of gunfire at the White House restaurant in Sodeco, Beirut, in a fight that involved Sehnaoui and his bodyguards, and the companions of businessman Mazen al-Zein.

Sehnaoui asked to be compensated each time the video was viewed and accordingly the court ordered the channel to pay a considerable sum of money.

Aoun highlighted that OTV did not upload the previews onto You Tube, adding that the Beirut Court of Urgent Matters was not the authority entitled to issue the verdict.

He warned of a conspiracy to “silence” OTV, while stressing that the station was established “to uncover and battle corruption.” The FPM leader urged the Lebanese not to keep silent over corruption.

“A cowardly society cannot protect itself and we have to stop the lies,” Aoun said.

OTV is a publicly-traded television station affiliated with the FPM. It began broadcasting in July 2007 and is one the three main Christian television stations in Lebanon, the other two being LBC and MTV.

OTV fears a fate similar to that of MTV which was closed down by Lebanese authorities in 2002 after it was convicted of breaking Article 68 of the electoral law, which bans electioneering ads on TV airwaves. It was relaunched in April 2009.

Also Tuesday, a delegation from the National Audiovisual Media Council met with Information Minister Tarek Mitri to discuss the fines on OTV.

Mitri denied repressing media freedoms, while confirming that media freedoms in Lebanon were not in danger.

The minister said the Court of Publications was the right judicial authority to look into the lawsuit filed against OTV.

He expressed surprise that OTV was held responsible for You Tube leaks, especially after OTV refrained from airing the “Ovrira” episode in question.

The Court of Publications looks into lawsuits filed against various media outlets, including televisions, in accordance with the Law of Publications and Audiovisual Media Law.

Meanwhile, the Press Federation called for a news conference at its headquarters in Verdun on Wednesday to address the issue of high court fines recently imposed on several media outlets. It will also tackle verdicts against media institutions, which were not issued by the Court of Publications. – The Daily Star

© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.