Côte d'Ivoire

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 10 November 2004 RSF press release: Abidjan state media mix propaganda, disinformation and incitement to riot The state media in Ivory Coast have become the exclusive mouthpiece of the government and its allies and are being used to promote street demonstrations, Reporters Without Borders said today after monitoring many […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 November 2004 letter to President Laurent Gbagbo, CPJ expressed its outrage over violent attacks carried out on 4 November on four private newspapers in Abidjan, and by a government ban against eight newspapers. These grave attacks on press freedom came as hostilities resumed in the rebel-held north of the country. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed “outrage” over a 4 November 2004 crackdown on the opposition press in Côte d’Ivoire. The latest incidents coincide with a sharp deterioration in the political and military climate and attacks by pro-government forces on former rebels. “Yesterday [4 November] was a black day for free expression in Côte d’Ivoire and […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – On 25 October 2004, youth supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo called the Young Patriots seized, tore up and prevented the sale of pro-opposition newspapers in the commercial capital of Abidjan. The Young Patriots warned newspaper vendors in different parts of Abidjan, including Yopugon, Port Bouet, Marcory and Cocody, not to sell newspapers considered […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the latest campaign of censorship and intimidation against opposition news media. In recent days, gangs of young people have been roaming the streets of Abidjan, threatening and attacking street vendors who sell opposition newspapers and tearing up copies of the newspapers targeted. The violence began three days after an anti-rebel […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 21 October 2004 RSF press release: French judge to charge man with “abduction and holding” of Guy-André Kieffer The brother-in-law of President Laurent Gbagbo’s wife, Michel Legré, has been charged on 11 October with “abduction and holding” of missing French-Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer. French examining judge Patrick Ramaël was […]

(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a 20 October 2004 CJFE media advisory: African Journalists under Siege to be Recognized Awards Dinner focuses on harsh restrictions on freedom of expression in Africa Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) will present two International Press Freedom awards to African journalists and a Memorial award to a missing Franco-Canadian […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 15 October 2004 CPJ press release: IVORY COAST: French peacekeepers rescue missing journalist from rebel zone New York, October 15, 2004 – Ivory Coast journalist Amadou Dagnogo, who disappeared from the rebel-held town of Bouake nearly two months ago, was flown to the commercial capital, Abidjan, yesterday by French […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 4 October 2004 CPJ press release: IVORY COAST: Journalist missing in rebel zone for more than a month New York, October 4, 2004 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that a correspondent for the private daily L’Inter has gone missing from the rebel-held town […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced deep concern over the 28 August 2004 disappearance of journalist Amadou Dagnogo, a correspondent in Bouaké for the daily “L’Inter”. Bouaké is a city in Côte d’Ivoire’s central region and a stronghold of the New Forces (Forces nouvelles, FN), the former rebels who control the north of the country. Dagnogo […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has welcomed the 4 August 2004 arrest in Paris of an Ivoirian Finance Ministry official who has been linked to the 16 April disappearance of freelance reporter Guy-André Kieffer in Abidjan. The official, Léonard Guédé, better known as James Senaque, was on a visit to Paris when he was detained on the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 3 August 2004 CPJ press release: IVORY COAST: Journalist granted provisional release, fears for his safety New York, August 3, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has learned that imprisoned Ivoirian journalist Gaston Bony, publication director of the weekly newspaper Le Venin and a host at the radio station […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has accused the Ivoirian government of “still doing all it can to ensure the truth never emerges” about the April disappearance of journalist Guy-André Kieffer and said impunity remained the rule in Côte d’Ivoire. A promise to the journalist’s family that it would be possible to question everyone involved in the case […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – The National Council for Broadcast Communication (Conseil national de la communication audiovisuelle, CNCA) has asked the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) to suspend broadcasts on its ONUCI FM radio station until it receives express authorisation form the Ministry of Information. According to MFWA sources in Côte d’Ivoire, ONUCI FM had already […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The Ivoirian government has tightened its grip on the national radio and television station Radiodiffusion télévision ivoirienne (RTI), following the announcement by Interim Communications Minister Hubert Oulaye, on 10 June 2004, of a series of new measures aimed at bringing the station’s news coverage in line with “government interests.” “The authorities will now […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 28 May 2004, Michel Legré, a key witness in the case of missing journalist Guy-André Kieffer, was charged with “accessory to kidnapping”, “unlawful confinement” and murder. Legré was also charged with defamation. RSF has accused Ivoirian judicial authorities of applying a double standard in the case, by charging Legré in connection with […]