Fear of threat to broadcast media after TV channel owner's arrest

Reporters Without Borders today warned the Lebanese authorities against obstructing press freedom following the arrest of commercial TV channel owner Tahsin Khayat, and it urged the political class not to sacrifice diversity in the news media, especially the broadcast media, in the interests of political rivalry. "The arrest of a TV station owner for apparently political reasons is a source of legitimate concern, especially as this is without precedent in Lebanon," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard said. "Although the TV station's broadcasts were not suspended, we must be vigilant and ask the authorities to guarantee to respect its freedom, whatever the charges against its owner and the political scores to be settled," Ménard added. Khayat, who is the owner of New Television (NTV) and a businessman opposed to the prime minister Rafic Hariri, was arrested on the orders of the military prosecutor on 5 December and was freed on bail the next day, charged with "presumed links with Israel" and "harming Lebanon's relations with its friends." The authorities maintain that his arrest is in no way linked to NTV's exhaustive coverage of the Al-Medina bank fraud, but observers are concerned about the impact of this unprecedented development on the freedom of Lebanon's broadcast media, already severely restricted in the past two years. NTV was the victim of government censorship on Jan. 1, 2003 when, under pressure from Saudi Arabia, its satellite relay was cut by the Lebanese telecommunications ministry on Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's orders to prevent the broadcasting of a programme in which members of the Saudi opposition spoke. Another commercial station, Murr Television (MTV), was shut down for good by the media court of appeal at the end of last year, thereby silencing the only TV station linked to opposition groups that criticise Syria's influence in Lebanon. Most observers viewed the closure as politically-motivated.