(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Ange-Félix Patassé, RSF asked that Cardoso de Meillot, managing editor of the private daily “Le Démocrate”, be immediately released, and that the arrest warrants against Raphaël Kopessoua, managing editor of the private weekly “Vouma la mouche”, and Zosse Judes, managing editor of “L’Hirondelle”, be lifted. Without commenting on […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Ange-Félix Patassé, RSF asked that Cardoso de Meillot, managing editor of the private daily “Le Démocrate”, be immediately released, and that the arrest warrants against Raphaël Kopessoua, managing editor of the private weekly “Vouma la mouche”, and Zosse Judes, managing editor of “L’Hirondelle”, be lifted. Without commenting on the content of the articles in question, the organisation reminded the president that the Central African Republic has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19 of which guarantees the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds. “During our visit to the Central African Republic in January 2000, President Patassé made a personal commitment to see to it that no journalist is ever imprisoned in the country,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
According to the information obtained by RSF, on 5 March, de Meillot was arrested and brought to the Bangui crime squad, on orders from the state prosecutor. The journalist is accused of “insulting the head of state and inciting hatred”, following publication of an article entitled “Can Patassé lay claim to external aid?”, affirming that “financially aiding Patassé is a crime against the Central African people”. The article added that the head of state is not a “man of his word”.
Arrest warrants have also been issued against two journalists for the same charges. Kopessoua, managing editor of the private weekly “Vouma la mouche”, is wanted for an article entitled “Jonas Yologaza [ex-national director of the Bank of Central African States – BEAC] wears the cross of Patassé”, which denounces the involvement of the financier in the “laundering of mafia money”. Judes, managing editor of “L’Hirondelle”, is also wanted for an article whose content we are unaware of. On 8 May, several police agents broke down Judes’ door, threatened his wife, and searched through his home without finding the journalist.
In January, President Patassé affirmed that he wanted to take “measures against the private press,” which he accused of “inciting tribal hatred and civil war.” He then declared that “playtime is finished.” In a report published in March, RSF reminded journalists of their duties in terms of professional ethics and asked the head of state not to take repressive measures against the press (see RSF’s report, distributed on the IFEX alerts network on 7 March 2000).
