A new blow to Sarkozy has been delivered by the Mediapart Internet portal which enjoys the reputation of a ‘media-killer’ in France. This time the website has produced evidence that Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign was financed by Muammar Gaddafi. The current French President called this information a “silly lie”. According to the Voice of Russia which spoke with the author of the material Fabrice Arfi.
According to Mediapart, the Libyan government allocated 50mln euros for Nicolas Sarkozy’s election campaign in 2007. Journalist Fabrice Arfi says that the publication of the materials at the height of the election race is a coincidence.
“In April we found an official document signed by the Libyan special services which we published. Prior to that, it took us a few days to establish its authenticity and to find witnesses and the masterminds. As soon as everything was ready we decided to publish the material, regardless of the French election campaign calendar. I can imagine the hailstorm of reproaches pouring down on us if we had not done it. When all facts have been collected we cannot postpone the publication. This is what democracy means: unpleasant information should be made public even during election campaigns.”
The French government doubted the authenticity of the published documents and demanded an investigation. The ex-head of the Libyan secret service Moussa Koussa denied the truth of the information offered by Mediapart. Fabrice Arfi says that Libya is not interested in shedding light on the situation.
“If the authenticity of the document is disputed it is necessary to point out the ‘forged’ elements. The empty words of Gaddafi’s regime former leaders protected by France cannot change anything. As for Moussa Koussa, the ex-head of the Libyan secret service, Mediapart described his story in detail some time ago. France helped to evacuate him from Libya via Tunis and now he lives in Qatar. Mr. Koussa was blackmailed and threatened with extradition if he did not deny the Mediapart information and make a declaration in favour of Nicolas Sarkozy. We know that all his denials are part of the information campaign carried out by the Elysee Palace.”
Journalist Arfi says that the suit filed by Nicolas Sarkozy against Mediapart within the punitive legislation framework gives the French President great advantages because the proceedings will be carried out by a court which he himself controls.
“We have been charged with ‘forgery of an official document’, ‘using counterfeit documents’, ‘spreading false information’ and ‘concealment of a counterfeit document’. All this gives Sarkozy an opportunity to use a full scale of technical tools available to criminal investigators, such as phone-tapping, arrests and searches. If Nicolas Sarkozy had charged us with slander the case would be heard by an open court. But he preferred the case to be heard by a court which is controlled by the president. This investigation is secret and the public prosecutor who is responsible for it is subordinated to the political authority which is acting as the accuser.”
Mediapart does not trust this investigation, does not intend to assist it and insists on an independent court, Fabrice Arfi told The Voice of Russia.
The second round of the presidential election in France will be held on the 6th of May. In the first round the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won 28.6% of votes and Nicolas Sarkozy 27.1%.
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