Imagine if you were caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. Luckily you are able to find somewhere to hide, unknown to the attackers. Hopefully, if you are quiet enough, you can ride it out and escape with your life when the authorities take control.
But imagine if the TV and radio just started broadcasting your location to everyone, including the terrorists?
That’s what happened to Lilian Lepere, who survived the Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this year—and now he’s suing the media that gave away his hiding place. Lepere hid under a sink in a print shop for eight hours after the terrorists started a siege there. Whilst he was there, one radio station and two TV networks reported that there was a man hiding in there. And of course, that could have easily alerted the terrorists to his whereabouts.
"The divulging of information in real time, while the [terrorists] - armed and dangerous - were able to follow how the operation was going, presented a real risk to Lilian," his lawyer told a French newspaper. He lodged a complaint with prosecutors in Paris last month, and an investigation is underway.
[via BBC]
