Niger / Africa

  

In Niger, three journalists are released from jail

New York, November 27, 2006—Niger’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Appeals in Niamey, today ordered the provisional release of two journalists serving prison sentences for an article criticizing the prime minister. Director Maman Abou and editor Oumarou Keita of the private weekly Le Républicain were freed pending the court’s decision on the merits of…

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CPJ condemns continued imprisonment of journalists

New York, September 25, 2006—An appeals court in Niger today upheld 18-month jail sentences for two journalists convicted of defamation and spreading false information in an article criticizing Prime Minister Hama Amadou. The court in the capital Niamey rejected a defense motion which challenged the competence of the criminal court that convicted Maman Abou and…

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A third journalist is sentenced to prison

New York, September 15, 2006—A court in Niger’s capital, Niamey, today sentenced journalist Salif Dago to six months in prison for publishing “false information,” according to local sources contacted by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Dago, a reporter for the private newspaper L’Enquêteur, is the third journalist to be sentenced to jail for his work…

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In Niger, two journalists sentenced to 18 months in jail

New York, September 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by 18-month prison sentences and heavy fines handed down against the director and editor of the Niger private weekly Le Républicain on charges of defaming the government and publishing false news. A court in the capital, Niamey, found Director Maman Abou and Editor Oumarou…

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CPJ condemns jailing of a third journalist

New York, September 1, 2006—A reporter for the private newspaper l’Enquêteur has been jailed since August 28, making him the third journalist imprisoned in Niger in recent weeks, according to local sources. Salif Dago was tried Thursday on charges of publishing false information and sent back to jail, the newspaper’s director Idrissa Soumana Maïga told…

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CPJ condemns continued detention of two journalists

New York, August 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by Niger’s continued detention of Le Républicain Director Maman Abou and Editor Oumarou Keita following their trial today on charges of spreading “false news” and defaming the government. The two have been in jail since August 4 in connection with a July opinion…

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CPJ condemns jailing of two journalists in Niger

New York, August 7, 2006—The director and editor of the private weekly Le Républicain have been held in police custody since Friday and questioned over a July opinion piece suggesting that Prime Minister Hama Amadou was “deserting the West for Iran.” Director Maman Abou said that he and Editor Oumarou Keita have been accused of…

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Independent publication banned

June 28, 2006 Posted: July 10, 2006 L’Opinion CENSORED Zakari Anzouma, L’Opinion and Opinions HARASSED The High Council on Communications (known as the CSC), a government-controlled media regulatory body, banned the independent weekly L’Opinion indefinitely, accusing it of insulting the president and inciting “rebellion,” according to international news reports and Abdourahamane Ousmane, president of the…

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Government blocks reporting on hunger

New York, April 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Niger’s attempt to censor coverage of hunger and malnutrition in parts of the West African state. The government withdrew accreditation last week from a BBC television crew after it reported on hunger in the central region of Maradi and has forbidden officials to…

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Journalist freed after 18 days detention in libel case

New York, February 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of newspaper director Ibrahim Manzo, who spent 18 days in preventive detention awaiting the outcome of a defamation case. A court in Niamey, capital of Niger, handed Manzo a suspended one-month prison sentence on Monday and ordered his release, local journalists told CPJ.…

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