niger: CPJ deeply concerned about arrests of journalists

CPJ deeply concerned about arrests of journalists

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Updates IFEX alerts of 28 and 26 August 2002

(CPJ/IFEX) - In a 4 September 2002 letter to Prime Minister Hama Amadou, CPJ
expressed deep concern about the climate for independent journalism in
Niger, following the recent arrests of two journalists and a presidential
decree restricting the media.

On 23 August, police arrested Moussa Kaka, director of the private radio
station Saraounia, in the capital, Niamey. Kaka was detained at National
Police Headquarters for about 10 hours and interrogated about his reports on
the early-August mutiny of soldiers in the southeastern part of the country.
Authorities were angered by Kaka's coverage of the mutiny, which they said
could have endangered government forces.

On 26 August, police arrested Boulama Ligari, reporter for the independent
Radio Anfani, in Diffa, the town that was the center of the uprising, and
transferred him to the civilian prison on 27 August. According to Radio
Anfani, Ligari had covered the mutiny extensively from Diffa. Ligari was
detained for three days, and was accused of broadcasting false information.
He was released on 29 August.

During the mutiny, President Mamadou Tanja issued a decree banning the
"propagation of information or allegations likely to be detrimental to the
implementation of national defense operations." Media outlets were
threatened with suspension or closure if they violated the ban. The decree
also stipulated that individuals who disseminated false information would
face punishment. The arrests came after the decree was issued (see IFEX
alert of 7 August 2002).

Because both reporters were arrested nearly two weeks after loyalist forces
had defeated the uprising, and because both were held without charge, local
journalists believe their detentions were designed to harass and intimidate
them and did not arise from concern about the security of national defense.
It appears instead that authorities are using the jail cell as punishment
for journalists who are covering events of legitimate public concern.

While Kaka and Ligari have been released, Abdoulaye Tiémogo, publisher and
editor-in-chief of the satirical weekly "Le Canard Dechainé", remains in
jail. Tiémogo, who has been jailed since 18 June, was convicted of libel on
28 June, and sentenced without parole to eight months in prison and ordered
to pay hefty fines. His conviction stemmed from a complaint filed by the
prime minister (see IFEX alerts of 4 July and 20 June 2002).

Journalists have the right to cover a mutiny, and CPJ fears that these
recent arrests indicate that the presidential decree may be used as a
pretext in the future to silence journalists who are merely doing their
jobs.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to the prime minister:
- urging him to do everything within his power to see that officials stop
harassing journalists
- calling on him to drop the charges against Tiémogo
- requesting that he work toward decriminalising press offenses in Niger in
order to respect the right of journalists to report the news freely, as
guaranteed under Niger's constitution

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Hama Amadou
Prime Minister
Primateur, Republic of Niger
Fax: +227 73 33 71

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi (ext. 112), Wacuka Mungai
(ext. 106) or Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this action alert update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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