(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 16 February 2005 letter to President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, CPJ said that it is deeply troubled that Radio France Internationale’s (RFI) FM broadcasts in Djibouti have been cut since 14 January 2005. According to RFI and French media reports, Djiboutian authorities silenced the broadcaster because of its report on an ongoing […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 16 February 2005 letter to President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, CPJ said that it is deeply troubled that Radio France Internationale’s (RFI) FM broadcasts in Djibouti have been cut since 14 January 2005.
According to RFI and French media reports, Djiboutian authorities silenced the broadcaster because of its report on an ongoing French legal inquiry into the 1995 death in Djibouti of Bernard Borrel, a French judge. RFI reported on 12 January that a French court had summoned the head of the Djiboutian secret services, Hassan Saïd, as a witness in the inquiry. An earlier French inquiry conducted in Djibouti had concluded that Borrel committed suicide.
CPJ condemned the censorship of a media organisation for reporting on matters of public concern and called on the president to ensure that RFI can begin broadcasting again immediately and that media in Djibouti can report the news freely, without fear of reprisal.
