The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined its Belgian affiliate in denouncing several legal decisions by Belgian courts which amount to preventive censorship, prohibited under the Belgian Constitution.
Last week, the Belgian courts prohibited the newspaper Le Soir from publishing an article about legal proceedings against a candidate in the local elections, according to a joint statement by the EFJ and the Association of Professional Journalists (AJP).
Another current procedure, initiated by the Belgian Minister of the Interior, aims to delete the Sudmedia group's archives "on a episode" in the Qatargate corruption scandal – with the view to prevent the group's media from using this information in the future. A few weeks earlier, the Belgian Business Court had declared itself competent to rule on the possible censorship of an RTBF investigation prior to broadcast.
"We have recorded a series of judicial decisions amounting to preventive censorship in Belgium over the past year. This is unprecedented," said EFJ General-Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez.
On 10 October, the President of the Liège Court of First Instance issued an "injunction to suspend distribution" aimed at preventing the publication of a public-interest article in the newspaper Le Soir.
The censored article concerned the legal consequences of an investigation into tax offences involving Maxime Degey (MR), councillor of the City of Verviers and head of the ‘Ensemble Verviers’ list in the municipal elections on 13 October.
The order equates the mere announcement of this procedural act, which is purely factual information, with a "misuse of the criminal file", with a "desire to cause harm".
"Under the pretext of a serious threat to the candidate's ‘right to honour, reputation and privacy’ three days before the elections, the daily Le Soir and other newspapers belonging to the Rossel group have been silenced," the joint press release stated. The order includes a formal prohibition on the media from disclosing the proceedings against Degey, and a fine of €50,000 in the event of non-compliance, the federations added.
Degey was allowed to stand in Sunday's local election, and is set become the next mayor of Verviers (Liege province), after receiving 2634 votes.
"The press freedom regime in Belgium operates on two pillars: freedom and responsibility. The constituent constitution explicitly ruled out the possibility of preventive prohibition measures hindering the exercise of this freedom," said Martine Simonis, Secretary General of the Association of Professional Journalists.
"The AJP condemns these abuses, which prevent journalists from informing the public. Alerts have been posted on the platform of the Council of Europe and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)," Simonis concluded.
