Gooré Bi Hué had gone to the Ivorian Refugee Camp in Elubo, a border town in Ghana, to prepare a report, when he was assaulted and detained by local police.
(MFWA/IFEX) – Gooré Bi Hué, a journalist with the Abidjan-based, state-owned “Fraternité Matin” newspaper, was reportedly arrested and detained overnight on May 22, 2011 at a police station in Esiama, a village in the Western Region of Ghana.
In the May 30th issue of “Fraternité Matin”, the newspaper alleged that Gooré, who had gone to the Ivorian Refugee Camp in Elubo, a border town in Ghana, to do a report, was assaulted and stripped naked before being detained by the Ghanaian police.
The newspaper said camp authorities accosted Gooré after the camp’s spokesman accused the journalist of going there to harm the refugees. At the time of his arrest, Gooré was in the company of a refugee, who served as his local guide.
“How on earth can you lead a journalist from ‘Fraternité Matin’ to me, to my hide out?,” the spokesman asked Gooré’s guide, according to the Ivorian state newspaper.
“‘Fraternité Matin’ is a pro-government newspaper and Ouattara’s government is in power (. . .) How can you come with a journalist from the Ivorian government to spy on me, to kill me!” the man reportedly said.
An officer with the Esiama police, Lance Corporal Saviour Dzakpasu, who confirmed the arrest and subsequent detention of the journalist, told Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) that Gooré was released after their investigation found him innocent of the accusations. The lance corporal denied however, that the journalist was assaulted.
