(MFWA/IFEX) – “L’Inter de Bamako”, a weekly independent newspaper, was ordered on 26 April 2006 by a local magistrate court to pay damages of 300,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$580) to Diacounda Traore, chairman of the opposition Alliance for Democracy in Mali-African Party for Solidarity and Justice (Alliance pour la Démocratie en Mali-Parti Pan-Africain pour la […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – “L’Inter de Bamako”, a weekly independent newspaper, was ordered on 26 April 2006 by a local magistrate court to pay damages of 300,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$580) to Diacounda Traore, chairman of the opposition Alliance for Democracy in Mali-African Party for Solidarity and Justice (Alliance pour la Démocratie en Mali-Parti Pan-Africain pour la Liberté, la Solidarité et la Justice, ADEMA-PASJ) for defaming him.
In addition, Amy Sanogo and Yoro Sow, editor and editor-in-chief, respectively, of the same newspaper, were also ordered to pay a fine of 70,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$135) each.
The court also ordered the two editors to publish the ruling in three local newspapers, at their own expense.
According to an MFWA-Mali source, Sanogo and Sow were found guilty of libel and conspiracy to defame, following an article by Sanogo in Issue No. 55 of the newspaper, which was published in February 2006, alleging top leaders of the former ruling party had, through mismanagement and corruption, ruined the National Bank for Housing.
The article specifically cited leading members of the ADEMA party, including Diacounda, as having contributed to the plunder of the bank.
Several efforts by Amadou Tieoule Diarra, counsel for the journalists, to obtain an out-of-court settlement failed, as Alou Diarra, counsel for Diacounda, argued that the publication of the article by the newspaper was a deliberate attempt to damage his client’s reputation.
However, the fines imposed by the court fell far short of the amount demanded by the plaintiff.
