**Updates IFEX alerts of 5, 4 and 3 May, 4 April, 14 and 7 March, 24 and 16 February, 20, 19, 18, 11 and 7 January 2000** (RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Laurent Désiré Kabila, RSF protested the three year prison sentence for Freddy Loseke, managing editor of the private daily “La Libre […]
**Updates IFEX alerts of 5, 4 and 3 May, 4 April, 14 and 7 March, 24 and 16 February, 20, 19, 18, 11 and 7 January 2000**
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Laurent Désiré Kabila, RSF protested the three year prison sentence for Freddy Loseke, managing editor of the private daily “La Libre Afrique”. While condemning the flagrant breaches of customary professional ethics by this journalist, RSF asked the head of state to grant him a pardon. The organisation recalled that in January 2000, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on Freedom of Opinion and Expression affirmed that “imprisonment as a punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion constitutes a serious violation of human rights.” “In addition, Freddy Loseke was judged before a special court normally reserved only for military personnel and was mistreated during the investigation into his case,” added Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general.
According to the information obtained by RSF, Loseke was sentenced to three years in prison by the Court of Military Order for “insulting the army”. Detained since 31 December 1999, the journalist was initially prosecuted for “propagation of false rumours”, but the prosecutor revised the charges during the trial. Since the Court of Military Order is a special court, no appeal is possible. Loseke is charged for publishing two articles, on 29 and 31 December, entitled “A general from Katanga wants to assassinate Kabila” and “Bédié effect at work: a mutiny is being prepared to provoke the flight of Kabila” respectively. In these articles, the managing editor of “La Libre Afrique” announced in an imminent coup d’état fomented by military personnel.
