(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has welcomed the 17-year prison sentence given to the murderer of French radio journalist Jean Hélène. The organisation blamed certain Ivorian media outlets for using extremist rhetoric to foment hatred and creating a hostile climate for foreign journalists. Hélène was shot dead by Police Sergeant Théodore Séri Dago on 21 October 2003. […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has welcomed the 17-year prison sentence given to the murderer of French radio journalist Jean Hélène. The organisation blamed certain Ivorian media outlets for using extremist rhetoric to foment hatred and creating a hostile climate for foreign journalists.
Hélène was shot dead by Police Sergeant Théodore Séri Dago on 21 October 2003. The Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent was killed in front of the National Police (Direction générale de la police nationale, DGPN) headquarters in the capital, Abidjan.
The organisation also pointed the finger at political figures who, it said, had done nothing to try to calm the situation. “Let us hope that this trial will also help pinpoint who else shares responsibility for his death,” RSF said.
On 21 January, Dago was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “voluntary homicide against Christian Baldensperger, known as Jean Hélène, with mitigating circumstances”. He was also fined 500,000 CFA francs (approx. US$970; 760 euros), dismissed from the police force and stripped of his civil rights for 10 years. Dago’s lawyer, Charles Kignima, said he intended to appeal the ruling.
RSF, which was represented as a civil party to the case, questioned the “mitigating circumstances” that the jury found in the case. “What mitigating circumstances can there be when a police officer purely and simply kills a journalist carrying out his work?” the organisation asked.
RSF said that on several occasions, it had called on the head of state, the government and political leaders to rein in media outlets that support them. None of the officials acted on the warnings.
The organisation also noted that it is now the authorities’ responsibility to do everything possible to see to it that such an episode never happens again and that Ivorian and foreign journalists can safely work in the country. RSF called on both pro and anti-government media to put an end to calls for violence and hatred and to respect basic ethical principles and a professional code of conduct.
