(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Ferdinand Koungou Edima, RSF expressed its concern about the police’s summoning of Jean-Marc Soboth, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper “La Nouvelle Expression”, which is published three times weekly. “Journalists from independent media outlets are increasingly being summoned by the police, who want them to reveal […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Ferdinand Koungou Edima, RSF expressed its concern about the police’s summoning of Jean-Marc Soboth, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper “La Nouvelle Expression”, which is published three times weekly. “Journalists from independent media outlets are increasingly being summoned by the police, who want them to reveal their sources. Must we recall that journalists inform the public and not the police?” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “These actions run counter to Cameroonian press freedom legislation,” he added. The organisation noted that Cameroon has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
According to information collected by RSF, the police summoned Soboth on 1 October 2001. He is accused of publishing a 24 September article about the strengthening of security measures in the country’s north-west and south-west Anglophone provinces, as the fortieth anniversary of the reunification of Cameroon’s anglophone and francophone provinces nears. The paper’s newsroom reportedly “used” a confidential message from Junior Defence Minister Remy Ze Meka, which was intended for the regional police affected. According to the authorities, the newspaper allegedly revealed a “defence secret.” The journalist refused to reveal his sources, which are protected in Cameroonian legislation by a 1990 law. Soboth was released the same day at around 9:00 p.m. (local time).
In July, the independent newspaper “Mutations”, which is also published three times weekly,
was harassed following its publication, in a special issue, of twenty-one government decrees concerning army reforms. After seizing 300 copies of the newspaper, police officers sought the name of the newspaper’s source. Accused of revealing a “defence secret”, publisher Haman Mana was kept in police custody for three days. However, he did not reveal his sources (see IFEX alert of 1 August 2001).
