Senegal: Journalist freed from prison, criminal charges remain
Madiambal Diagne, publication director of the independent Senegalese daily Le Quotidien, was granted a provisional release on July 26 after being held for more than two weeks in prison. Diagne was jailed on July 9 in connection with articles published in Le Quotidien about alleged fraud in the customs service and alleged government interference in the judiciary. The criminal charges against him remain: publishing secret documents; publishing false information; and committing acts likely to cause public unrest.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - SENEGAL
27 July 2004
Journalist freed from prison, criminal charges remain
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**Updates IFEX alert of 12 July 2004**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:
SENEGAL: Journalist freed from prison, criminal charges remain
New York, July 27, 2004-Madiambal Diagne, publication director of the
independent Senegalese daily Le Quotidien, was granted a provisional release
yesterday afternoon after being held for more than two weeks in prison.
Diagne was jailed on July 9 in connection with articles published in Le
Quotidien about alleged fraud in the customs service and alleged government
interference in the judiciary. The criminal charges against him remain:
publishing secret documents; publishing false information; and committing acts
likely to cause public unrest.
According to Diagne's lawyer, Boucounta Diallo, the journalist faces several
years in prison if convicted. Diagne's defense has filed a motion requesting
that the charges against him be dismissed.
Diagne's imprisonment has sparked widespread condemnation and protests from
journalists' associations and civil society groups in Senegal and neighboring
countries. In an interview with Radio France Internationale following his
release, Diagne said, "If my arrest has enabled the Senegalese government to
become aware of the need to amend the criminal code, I am really glad to be the
cause."
"Madiambal Diagne's imprisonment highlights the urgent need for President
Abdoulaye Wade to uphold his stated commitment to press freedom, and to push for
the removal of all criminal penalties for press offenses from Senegalese law,"
said Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Executive Director Ann Cooper.
For more information about Madiambal Diagne's imprisonment, see CPJ's July 12
alert: http://www.cpj.org/news/2004/Senegal12july04na.html
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions
in Senegal, visit http://www.cpj.org
For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford or
Alex Arieff 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], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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