(RSF/IFEX)- In a letter to the Niger Minister of Justice, Ali Sirsi, RSF protested the sentence of eight months in prison and a fine of 500,000 F CFA (769 euros) for Sumana Maïga, founder and owner of the weekly “L’Enquêteur”, as well as the sentencing of Dahirou Gouro and Salif Dago, managing editor and journalist […]
(RSF/IFEX)- In a letter to the Niger Minister of Justice, Ali Sirsi, RSF protested the sentence of eight months in prison and a fine of 500,000 F CFA (769 euros) for Sumana Maïga, founder and owner of the weekly “L’Enquêteur”, as well as the sentencing of Dahirou Gouro and Salif Dago, managing editor and journalist with “L’Enquêteur”, respectively, to a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 300,000 F CFA (461 euros). “We request the immediate release of Sumana Maïga,” declared Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “This prison sentence constitutes a retreat of press freedom in Niger, whereas for several years, only suspended sentences have been imposed for similar charges,” he specified.
The three journalists were sentenced by the Niamey Magistrates’ Court on 16 November 2000. Maïga, Gouro and Dago were accused of “disturbing the public order” and of “spreading false information”. “L’Enquêteur” was prosecuted by the Ministry of Defense, following the publication of an article about the dispute between Benin and Niger concerning the island of Lété. Gouro and Dago were released after the hearing while Maïga was taken to prison to serve his sentence. The three journalists appealed the verdict. They were arrested between 23 and 25 October and were held illegally for several days before being placed in custody for four days, in violation of Niger law which stipulates that custody must not exceed a period of forty-eight hours, renewable only once. The trial was also marked by irregularities, notably by the court being unable to establish bad faith on the part of the journalists. In fact, other media, notably public television, covered the events on the island of Lété. “L’Enquêteur” has ceased to appear as of 25 October.
