(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned about the threat to freedom of expression posed by a state of alert that President Mamadou Tandja decreed on 5 August 2002, following a mutiny by soldiers in garrisons in the country’s far east. “We ask you not to use the state of alert as a pretext for muzzling the […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned about the threat to freedom of expression posed by a state of alert that President Mamadou Tandja decreed on 5 August 2002, following a mutiny by soldiers in garrisons in the country’s far east.
“We ask you not to use the state of alert as a pretext for muzzling the independent news media, which would represent a serious step backwards in the democratic process,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said in a letter to President Tandja. “We remind you that press freedom is guaranteed under Niger’s constitution.” The organisation asked for the decree to be repealed.
Under the decree, “the dissemination by any media of reports or allegations liable to cast doubt on national defence operations is forbidden.” Any violation of these measures will result in the suspension or closure of the media outlet and the printing house that produces it, along with the confiscation of equipment. Any person contributing to the dissemination or publication of such reports is also liable to be punished. Journalists have allegedly received threats from the police and the communications minister.
RSF notes that journalist Abdoulaye Tiémogo, editor of the satirical weekly “Le Canard Déchaîné”, was sentenced on 28 June to eight months in prison for “defamation and insults” (see IFEX alerts of 4 July and 20 June 2002).
