(RSF/IFEX) – Gaël Mocaer, a freelance filmmaker on assignment for the Radio-France Outremer (RFO) network, has been detained at the headquarters of the counter-espionage services (Direction de surveillance du territoire, DST) in Abidjan since 17 October 2002. RSF urges the Côte d’Ivoire authorities, especially Communications Minister Séry Bailly, to take all the measures necessary to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Gaël Mocaer, a freelance filmmaker on assignment for the Radio-France Outremer (RFO) network, has been detained at the headquarters of the counter-espionage services (Direction de surveillance du territoire, DST) in Abidjan since 17 October 2002. RSF urges the Côte d’Ivoire authorities, especially Communications Minister Séry Bailly, to take all the measures necessary to secure his immediate release. “Gaël Mocaer did nothing more than carry out his professional activities. Nothing can justify his continued detention. The Côte d’Ivoire authorities, who claim to have no prisoners of conscience in the country, must ensure his safety and release him without delay,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
According to information collected by RSF, Mocaer, an independent filmmaker of French nationality, was arrested at his hotel by DST agents on 17 October. No one has been allowed to visit him since his arrest. According to one witness, agents reportedly returned to the hotel to collect his personal effects. No explanation was provided for his arrest and he has not been charged. The filmmaker was in the country to produce a documentary about the situation in Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of RFO and the Béta Productions company. His visa only expires on 27 October.
Foreign journalists and camera operators have been particularly at risk since the failed coup d’état on 19 September. Several have been assaulted or threatened and video cameras have been seized.
