Niger

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on the government of Niger to immediately release Mamane Abou, editor of the weekly “Le Républicain”, who was arrested on 5 November 2003 and accused of “involvement in the theft and publication” of confidential Finance Ministry documents proving that the finance minister had embezzled several billion CFA francs (over US$1.7 […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 October 2003, Ibrahim Souley, publication director of the weekly “L’Enquêteur”, was sentenced to a one-year suspended jail sentence and barred from entering the capital, Niamey, for three months, for “inciting ethnic hatred”. “We are relieved that this journalist was released, of course. However, we do not understand why he is being […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert: President M. Tandja Mamadou has warned independent radio stations operating in parts of the country against broadcasting any programmes “liable to disturb the social peace and public order.” In a 2 October 2003 radio message to all regional ministers, municipal chief executives and district heads of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has strongly protested the police’s forcible shutdown of at least three independent radio stations in Niger on 4 October 2003. The organisation called on the government to see to it that the stations are allowed to reopen and resume their broadcasts at once. “After cancelling the broadcasting licences of 10 stations, the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 6 October 2003 letter to President Mamadou Tandja, CPJ expressed concern over the continued imprisonment of Ibrahim Souley, the publication director of the private weekly “L’Enquêteur”. Souley is expected to face trial on 7 October on charges of spreading propaganda and “inciting ethnic hatred”. The charges stem from an article published […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The Higher Council for Communications (Conseil supérieur de la Communication, CSC) has ordered 10 of the country’s privately-owned radio stations to suspend their programming as of 25 September 2003. RSF is outraged over this decision, which is characteristic of a regime that seeks to suppress basic freedoms. “Just what is happening at present […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed concern over the imprisonment of Ibrahim Souley, editor of the weekly “L’Enquêteur”, for exposing embezzlement in the handing out of government contracts. The organisation has called for Souley’s immediate release. “We do not understand why the authorities have jailed him, since he was simply doing his job of informing the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a 15 June 2003 letter to Communications Minister Oumarou Sidikou, RSF urged the authorities to launch an investigation and take legal action following the 14 June attack on several journalists from the private broadcaster Radio Télévision Ténéré (RTT) in the capital, Niamey. The organisation also wrote to Niamey University’s student union, condemning […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 18 February 2003, Abdoulaye Tiémogo, managing editor of the weekly newspaper “Le Canard déchaîné”, was released from prison after completing his eight-month sentence. Contacted by RSF, he said he hoped to “continue publishing [his] newspaper,” while saying that he would be preparing his publication with “greater caution” from now on. Officers from […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the government’s closure of the privately-owned radio station Nomade FM, describing it as “a serious threat to press freedom and the growth of independent and pluralistic information in the region.” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard called on the authorities to allow the station to reopen at once and let the station’s […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Ibrahim Manzo and Cissé Omar Amadou, journalist and marketing director from “Le Canard déchaîné”, respectively, were released on 24 November 2002, in the evening, after spending four days in detention. Neither journalist was charged. The two journalists were arrested on 20 November following the publication of an article entitled “Did the army’s chief […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF demands the immediate release of two journalists from the weekly newspaper “Le Canard déchaîné” who have been detained at the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters since 20 November 2002. The organisation recalls that the United Nations condemns imprisonment as a punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion and notes that nothing can […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned by the decision to uphold the eight-month prison sentence against Abdoulaye Tiémogo, managing editor of the “Canard Déchaîné” newspaper. The decision was made by the Niamey Appeal Court on 11 November 2002. Tiémogo had been convicted on 28 June for the offence of “insult and […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – In a letter to President Mamadou Tadjia, ARTICLE 19 condemned the imprisonment of Elhadji Bagnou Bonkoukou, the 75-year-old president of the Niger Human Rights League (LNDH), for allegedly disseminating “false news”. ARTICLE 19 has been following with interest the evolution of media related events in Niger and is gravely concerned at the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 4 September 2002 letter to Prime Minister Hama Amadou, CPJ expressed deep concern about the climate for independent journalism in Niger, following the recent arrests of two journalists and a presidential decree restricting the media. On 23 August, police arrested Moussa Kaka, director of the private radio station Saraounia, in the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Boulama Ligari, a journalist with the private station Radio Anfani, was arrested by police officers in Diffa (1,500 km east of the capital, Niamey) on 27 August 2002. The authorities did not provide an explanation for his arrest, but according to several local sources, the journalist was reportedly arrested because of his reports […]