Xiomera acknowledges Broussard arrest
Xiomera's Ministry of Justice confirmed today that Antoine Broussard, a journalist with the Democratic Times News Service, has been detained by the Imperial Police and is under arrest.
"The journalist in question is suspected of violating multiple articles of the Imperial Penal Code, which was reported to the authorities by concerned Xiomeran citizens," Minister of Justice Cuicanan said in a press conference. "As such, he is being detained at this time, and will stand trial on these accusations."
Broussard is accused of violating Articles 56 and 139 of the recently revised Penal Code, which require pre-screening of articles by government censors and permission to conduct interviews, as well as requiring foreign reporters in the country to travel with an official government "observer". He is also accused of violating Article 145, a "fake news"-related article recently added to the Penal Code. DTNS has been accused in the past by Imperial authorities of spreading misleading or incorrect information about the Xiomeran government, but this is the first time a foreign journalist has been arrested and charged for it. In the most concerning set of charges, Broussard is accused of violating Articles 7 and 39 of the Code. Charges under those two articles, related to espionage and foreign "intervention", indicate that the Imperial government intends to accuse Broussard of espionage or working with a foreign power to destabilize the Xiomeran state.
"The charges being brought against Antoine Broussard are a laundry list intended to intimidate and threaten both Antoine, and any other journalists. They are a complete and utter fabrication," Katelyn Thomas, editor-in-chief of DTNS, said after the Minister's press conference. "The idea that Antoine is some kind of foreign spy, in particular, is so ridiculous. If he's a spy, I'm a 50-foot-tall dinosaur. The Xiomerans are throwing the kitchen sink at Antoine and using him as a scapegoat to slam the door on independent media coverage of their increasingly tyrannical regime." Thomas once again urged the international community to apply pressure to Xiomera to release Broussard from custody.
A related media campaign has begun as well, with the hashtags #FreeAntoine, #FreeBroussard and #XiomeranTyranny beginning to trend in multiple countries in response to the arrest.
As of this time, the Xiomeran government has still denied any attempts by independent counsel, DTNS employees, or foreign consular staff to see Broussard.
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