Réagissant aux amendements prévus à l’Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, Me Antoine Domingue, affirme qu’il est clair que les ‘personnes au pouvoir ont Top FM dans leur ligne de mire’. Il soutient également qu’il s’agit là d’un texte de loi ad hominem, c’est-à-dire où c’est une personne (ou compagnie) qui est visée.
Le Senior Counsel dit prévoir ‘une série d’actions en justice et éventuellement des demandes de recours constitutionnel en raison de violations des droits fondamentaux’. Il estime que l’Independent Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Bill et la Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Bill ‘vont de pair’ et visent à ‘restreindre la liberté d’expression lorsqu’elle est exprimée contre le gouvernement en place’.

Voici l’intégralité de la réaction d’Antoine Domingue…

‘IBA and those in power have Top Fm in their sights and this Bill is obviously an ad hominem piece of legislation. I do not know of any other licensee which has several pending judicial proceedings against IBA and whose private commercial radio licence is up for renewal. I was serving as acting Chairman at the MTA when the private commercial radio licences were first issued. The chairman of the MTA was then an ex officio member of the IBA. It is now the reverse, once the Bill becomes law the chairman of the IBA shall henceforth be an ex officio member of the ICTA. Given the track record of the IBA this does not augur well. I foresee a string of court cases and possibly applications for constitutional relief on account of breaches of fundamental rights both on the IBA and on the ICTA front following the other cybersecurity and cybercrime Bill. Both Bills go hand in hand and are meant to curb freedom of expression whenever it is expressed against the government of the day. However, as we have been able to see for ourselves on 11.11.21 the partisan land one sided reporting of a prominent court case by the MBC has not been the subject of any rebuke by the IBA. Time will tell.’