(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 June 2003, “Le Renouveau” newspaper editor Daher Ahmed Farah was released at the end of a hearing in Djibouti after the presiding judge ruled that no crime had been committed and that the defendant was therefore not guilty. Farah, who also heads an opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Renewal and […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 June 2003, “Le Renouveau” newspaper editor Daher Ahmed Farah was released at the end of a hearing in Djibouti after the presiding judge ruled that no crime had been committed and that the defendant was therefore not guilty.
Farah, who also heads an opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), had been accused of libel by the army chief of staff, Gen. Zakaria Cheik Ibrahim, and of “undermining the army’s morale” by the defence ministry. He was arrested on 20 April, released provisionally on 3 June, and re-arrested two days later.
“This time I think it’s for good,” Farah told RSF. “I’ve been released on both charges and the tendency seems to be to let things calm down. This is good news.”
Farah has been arrested several times in recent years. In most cases, he was accused of press crimes and handed a prison sentence or fine.
