niger: Editor sentenced
Ibrahim Sorley, managing editor of the weekly 'Le Enqueteur' was sentenced to a 12-month "suspended jail term" by the Niamey Regional Court on October 14 2003. The court also barred Sorley from staying in the capital, Niamey, for three months.
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To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), [email protected]
The following is a joint MISA and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) alert:
Niger Alert
October 17, 2003
Editor sentenced
* The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Media Foundation of West
Africa (MFWA), as a joint activity, will henceforth issue alerts, statements and
appeals to highlight media freedom and wider human rights violations in West
Africa. See www.misa.org and www.mediafoundationwa.org for more information.
On October 14 2003, Ibrahim Sorley, managing editor of the weekly 'Le Enqueteur'
was sentenced to a 12-month "suspended jail term" by the Niamey Regional Court.
The court also barred Sorley from staying in the capital, Niamey, for three
months.
Sorley was arrested on Saturday September 13, 2003 and detained by the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) for more than three weeks. He was arraigned
before court on October 7, 2003 on a charge of "inciting ethnic hatred and
regionalism."
The Issue No. 169 of "Le Enqueteur" had published an article which suggested
that President Tandja Mamadou had instructed the public treasury to withhold all
payments due to Djibo Sakon, a well known business contractor.
The paper implied that the President's directives were influenced by complaints
being made by some businessmen in the East of Niger, who alleged that most
public contracts were being awarded to Sakon he hails from the West of Niger.
Enquiries:
Media Foundation for West Africa
Prof Kwame Karikari
Executive Director (MFWA)
P. O. Box LG 730
Legon, Ghana
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 233-21-24 24 70
Fax: 233-21-22 10 84
Web: http://www.mediafoundationwa.org
Enquiries:
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Zoe Titus
Program Coordinator: Media Freedom Monitoring
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel: +264 61 232 975
Fax: +264 61 248 016
Web: http://www.misa.org
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