(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the minister of the interior, General Sizing Walla, RSF protested the arrest of two journalists from the weekly “Echos d’Afrique”, in Lomé. RSF urged the minister to do everything possible so that the three journalists who are currently detained in the country are released. “The Togolese authorities are constantly […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the minister of the interior, General Sizing Walla, RSF protested the arrest of two journalists from the weekly “Echos d’Afrique”, in Lomé. RSF urged the minister to do everything possible so that the three journalists who are currently detained in the country are released. “The Togolese authorities are constantly attacking media professionals. The president and his entourage remain very sensitive to criticism from the opposition press,” noted Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. RSF recalled that since the beginning of 2001, at least four journalists have been incarcerated in Togo.
According to information collected by RSF, on 29 October, Abdoul-Ganiou Bawa and Rigobert Bassadou, publication director and editor-in-chief, respectively, of the private weekly “Echos d’Afrique”, were incracerated at the civil prison in Lomé. They are accused of “undermining honour” and “publishing false news.” On 26 September, the newspaper published an article titled “Fraud in Dankpen: the chief of police embezzles 1,130,000 CFA Francs”. According to “Echos d’Afrique”, the police chief from this town reportedly received bribes from the sale of teak wood intended for the restoration of a bridge. The weekly asked the anti-corruption commission to investigate the affair.
In addition, on 26 October, Alphonse Klu, director of “Le Nouvel Echo” was transferred to the civil prison in Lomé. Two weeks earlier, having been summoned, he went to the offices of the Ministry of the Interior. He was immediately placed in custody at the Lomé police station. The police is demanding that he reveal his sources for an article in which he reported that a government official is allegedly hiding “several billion” CFA Francs in his basement (see IFEX alerts of 30 and 16 October 2001).
Finally, the editorial office staff of the private weekly “Motion d’information” is concerned about telephone calls they have been receiving from individuals identifying themselves as agents from the Ministry of the Interior or the intelligence services. The callers have asked the weekly’s publication director to go to the ministry’s offices. “Something is being prepared against our newspaper,” “Motion d’information” director Folivi Ayika said in a letter to RSF.
