국경없는기자회(RSF), "PD수첩 재판은 복수극"

검찰의 PD수첩 수사에 대한 국경없는기자회의 성명서를 올립니다.
아래 글은 시사IN 신호철 기자의 설명입니다.

국제 언론 단체 '국경없는 기자회(RSF)'가 PD수첩 제작진을 향한 정부의 공격적 태도를 비판했다. 파리에 본부를 둔 국경없는 기자회는 9월9일(현지시각) "MBC PD에 대한 명예훼손 재판은 복수 행위"라는 제목의 기사 형식을 띤 성명을 발표했다.

<PD수첩>은 미국산 쇠고기가 광우병을 일으킬 가능성을 다뤘고, 이에 대해 전직 농림부장관 등이 명예가 훼손됐다고 고발하면서 재판이 시작됐다.  국경없는 기자회는  "이 언론인들은 미국산 쇠고기를 다룬 데 대한 복수극의 희생양"이라며 "검찰은 기소를 취하하고 재판부는 빨리 사건을 무죄 종결하라"고 요구했다. "만약 그들이 유죄 선고를 받는다면, 이는 한국 민주주의에 위험한 전례를 남기는 것이다"라고 덧붙였다.

국경없는 기자회는 조사를 받던 몇몇 PD가 48시간 동안 구금되었던 일과, 이춘근 PD가 야밤에 강제로 끌려간 일 등을 언급하며 지난 경과를 소개했다. 국경없는 기자회는 지난 3월25일 PD수첩 제작진 체포에 항의하는 기사 형식의 성명을 발표한 적 있다.

국경없는 기자회는 1985년 설립되었으며, 국제기자협회(IFJ), 인권단체 국제엠네스티와 함께 언론 자유를 위해 애쓰는 세계 3대 단체 중 하나로 꼽히고 있다.

http://international.sisain.co.kr/entry/국경없는기자회-MBC-재판은-복수극이다

SOUTH KOREA
Trial of MBC producers on defamation charges is
“act of revenge”

 http://www.rsf.org/Trial-of-MBC-producers-on.html
 
Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate withdrawal of defamation charges against four producers and one writer who were employed in 2008 by the Seoul-based TV station MBC’s investigative programme PD Notebook – Neung Hee Cho, Il Jun Song, Bo Seul Kim, Choon Keun Lee and Eun Hee Kim – whose trial has begun in Seoul today.
 
The charges are the result of a March complaint by the former agriculture minister and senior government officials over an April 2008 programme about the possibility of catching mad cow disease from imported American beef. MBC issued a formal apology after the broadcast, acknowledging that it contained translation errors.
 
“It is unacceptable that this trial should take place,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We urge the Seoul prosecutor’s office to drop the charges against these journalists, who are the victims of an act of revenge for doing a programme about US beef. We also urge the judge to quickly clear them. It is outrageous that prison sentences can be envisaged for mere translation errors. If the journalists are convicted, it will set a dangerous precedent for South Korean democracy.”
 
After the initial hearing on 9 September, to be headed by judge Moon Sung Guan, five other hearings have been scheduled. After the last of these, on 3 February 2010, the court will have a couple of months to reach a verdict. The defendants are facing the possibility of five-year jail sentences.
 
The MBC production team was formally indicted on 18 June for alleging defaming two former senior government officials, Jung Woon Chun and Min Dong Suk, and “obstructing the commercial activities of certain US beef import companies by disseminating false information.” Some of the accused were detained for 48 hours, during which time they insisted on their right to remain silent.
 
Three months prior to that, on 25 March, one of the programme’s producers, Choon-Keun Lee, was arrested at night and forcibly escorted to the office of the Seoul public prosecutor for questioning about the programme, which had prompted a wave of protests in South Korea when it was broadcast. Five other MBC employees were detained.
 
A Reporters Without Borders representative went to MBC headquarters in March to express the organisation’s solidarity with the station’s journalists, some of whom had not left the premises for several months for fear of being arrested.
 
One of the journalists recently told Reporters Without Borders that he was in the process of gathering evidence of his innocence with the help of his colleagues and his lawyer.

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COREE DU SUD
Une équipe de la chaîne MBC jugée pour "diffamation" : "un acte de vengeance"
http://www.rsf.org/Une-equipe-de-la-chaine-MBC-jugee.html`
 
Reporters sans frontières appelle au retrait immédiat des plaintes en "diffamation" instruites à l’encontre de Neung Hee Cho, Il Jun Song, Bo Seul Kim, Choon Keun Lee et de Eun Hee Kim, employés de la chaîne MBC, à Séoul. En mars 2009, l'ancien ministre de l’Agriculture et des hauts fonctionnaires ont porté plainte pour "diffamation", reprochant aux producteurs de l’émission d'investigation PD Notebook leur couverture de l'affaire dite du bœuf américain.
 
"Le simple fait que ce procès ait lieu est inadmissible. Nous appelons le bureau du procureur de Séoul à abandonner les charges retenues contre ces professionnels des médias qui avaient enquêté sur l'affaire du bœuf américain. Nous demandons au juge de reconnaître au plus vite l'innocence de ces journalistes victimes d'un acte de vengeance. Il est scandaleux que des peines de prison puissent être envisagées pour de simples erreurs de traduction. Si les journalistes étaient condamnés, cela constituerait un dangereux précédent pour la démocratie en Corée du Sud", a déclaré l’organisation.
 
La première audience du procès dirigé par le juge Moon Sung Guan, a eu lieu le 9 septembre 2009, à Séoul. Cinq audiences se succéderont jusqu’au 3 février 2010, date à partir de laquelle il faudra attendre quelques mois pour un verdict.
 
Le 18 juin 2009, l’équipe de production a été officiellement accusée de « diffamation à l’encontre de Jung Woon Chun et Min Dong Suk et d’obstruction des affaires de certaines compagnies important du bœuf américain, en propageant de fausses informations ».  Certains des accusés ont été interpellés et placés en détention pendant 48 heures, pendant lesquelles ils ont fait valoir leur droit de garder le silence.
 
Le 25 mars 2009, l'un des producteurs de l’émission, Choon-Keun Lee, avait été emmené de force au bureau du procureur (http://www.rsf.org/Un-journaliste-de-la-chaine,30676.html). Les révélations contenues dans ce programme avaient provoqué un large mouvement de protestation en Corée du Sud. Cinq autres employés de MBC  ont été interpellés.
 
Un représentant de Reporters sans frontières s'était rendu en mars dernier au siège de MBC pour exprimer sa solidarité avec ces journalistes, dont certains n'étaient pas sortis de leur bureau depuis plusieurs mois, de peur d'être arrêtés.
 
Lors d’un récent contact avec Reporters sans frontières, l'un des journalistes poursuivis affirmait être en train de rassembler, avec l’aide de ses collègues et de son avocat, les preuves de son innocence. Choon-Keun Lee et ses collègues risquent jusqu’à cinq ans de prison ferme.