(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Laurent Gbagbo, RSF expressed its concern further to the arrest of Bakary Nimaga, editor-in-chief of “Le Libéral”, and the ransacking of two newspapers’ newsrooms in Abidjan. “Two days after your official inauguration as head of state, it is your duty to publicly comment on the issue of press […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Laurent Gbagbo, RSF expressed its concern further to the arrest of Bakary Nimaga, editor-in-chief of “Le Libéral”, and the ransacking of two newspapers’ newsrooms in Abidjan. “Two days after your official inauguration as head of state, it is your duty to publicly comment on the issue of press freedom and to call your activists as well as the entire population to order,” stated Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “We ask you to forcefully condemn these attacks and punish the responsible parties. The impunity of soldiers during General Robert Gueï’s regime must not be replaced today by the impunity of police officers,” added Ménard. Finally, RSF recalled that since the beginning of the year, fourteen journalists have been detained and seven others have been beaten by soldiers.
According to information collected by RSF, Nimaga, editor-in-chief of the private daily “Le Libéral”, was arrested on 26 October 2000 in the course of the evening by police officers. The officers then took him to the Agban base (in the Adjamé district), where they beat him with sticks and clubs. The men acccused him of being “a spy of the RDR” (Rally of the Republicans, an opposition party), before releasing him a few hours later. Nimaga suffered bruises to his left arm and legs.
On 27 October, the newsrooms of “Le Libéral” and the daily “La Référence” were ransacked by students. The newspapers’ computers were broken and both dailies are unsure that they will be able to publish in the next few days. “Le Libéral” and “La Référence” are two newspapers with close ties to the RDR.
