Oral Argument.pdf

Katherine Geen Kaneishia A. Alombro Eh 301 May I please the court. There are many ways to which we can exercise our rights. However, the exercise of our rights are not absolute and is confined within the boundaries of the law. It is among our duties as citizens to be vigilant and to be critical to what is happening within the political sphere of our society. There are myriad of outlets to which we can represent our opinion towards the issues that we are concerned of. We can post our sentiments on the social media. We can even lobby our advocacies through protest. I for one once joined and voiced out my advocacies by rallying on the streets. These are examples in which we can exercise our right to freedom of expression. However, such right is not, again, absolute. This situation then leads us to this dilemma: how far can we enjoy our rights? Ladies and gentlemen, this is why we are here today. To shed light on this issue. To refresh our memories, TTV is an independent broadcast station funded by NGO’s and other foreign investors. Tanja Trotter is an editor in chief of the TV news and the TTV’s website. The prosecution and conviction of my clients were due to their “alleged” defamatory and insulting allegations toward the government, the Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister because of the article posted on TTV ’s website and the its presentation on the national TV. They were also prosecuted an d convicted because of the satire cartoon that was anonymously posted on TTV’s website and further for inciting an uprising, spread of hatred amongst the people and for promoting unauthorized public demonstration. Moreover, my clients were ordered to reveal the identity of the person who posted the satire cartoon on the website. What is more shocking is the refusal of the Criminal Court of Appeals to give the official documents requested by my clients. These documents are important since these may contain the proof of the allegations on corruption and fraud regarding the siphoning of funds of the World Bank and the Eu. To simply put, we have here an issue of the validity of the government’s action vis-à-vis with my clients’ right to freedom of expre ssion from the government. The Turustein Government is among the states that signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on Civil and Political Rights. “The ICCPR is a key international human rights treaty, providing a range of protections for civil and political rights. This convention obligates the countries who have ratified to take administrative, judicial, and legislative measures in order to protect the rights enshrined in the treaty and to provide an effective remedy” 1 . The Turustein Government has the responsibility to enact the provisions of this convention with respect to the Public I nternational Principle of pacta sunt servanda. The right to freedom of expression has been the cornerstone of the media. The media is considered as a powerful avenue to which there are communications from the different sectors of the society. An independent media is a powerful media and because it is not cloaked with the powers of the government. 1 ICCPR website

Oral Argument.pdf

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