(RSF/IFEX) – RSF welcomes the release of Abdoulaye Tiémogo, on the morning of Friday 7 December 2001, after forty-eight days in detention. Minister of Agriculture Wassalké Boukari withdrew his complaint at the start of the appeals trial. Reached via telephone by RSF, Tiémogo stated, “This was a political trial. I was arrested following a local […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF welcomes the release of Abdoulaye Tiémogo, on the morning of Friday 7 December 2001, after forty-eight days in detention. Minister of Agriculture Wassalké Boukari withdrew his complaint at the start of the appeals trial. Reached via telephone by RSF, Tiémogo stated, “This was a political trial. I was arrested following a local investigation. The authorities do not want us to go too far.” The journalist’s conditions in detention were acceptable and he was able to continue working while in prison.
According to information collected by RSF, on 19 October, the Niamey First Instance Tribunal sentenced Tiémogo, publication director of “Le Canard Déchaîné”, to six months’ imprisonment for “defamation”. He also had to pay a fine of 100,000 CFA francs (approx. US$137; 153 euros) and 5 million CFA francs (approx. US$6,850; 7,600 euros) in damages and interest to Minister of Agriculture Boukari. The minister had filed a complaint against “Le Canard Déchaîné” following its publication of an article alleging that he had embezzled 200 million CFA francs (approx. US$274,000; 305,000 euros) from a gold-mining area in the west of the country. After the reading of the verdict, Tiémogo, who appeared on his own volition, was immediately taken to Niamey’s civil prison. He appealed his conviction. The director of “Le Canard Déchaîné” had previously been detained for four days in June 2000.
