(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Justice Minister Ali Sirsi, RSF requested the release of Daouda Traoré and Abdoulaye Tchiémogo, editor-in-chief and managing editor, respectively, with the Niamey-based satirical private weekly “Canardo”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard recalled that in a document dated 14 July 1992, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stressed that “detention […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Justice Minister Ali Sirsi, RSF requested the release of Daouda Traoré and Abdoulaye Tchiémogo, editor-in-chief and managing editor, respectively, with the Niamey-based satirical private weekly “Canardo”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard recalled that in a document dated 14 July 1992, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stressed that “detention as punishment for the expression of an opinion is one of the most reprehensible means to enjoin silence, and as such constitutes a serious violation of human rights”.
According to information collected by RSF, Tchiémogo was detained by officers from Niamey’s Criminal Investigation Department on 22 June 2000. The next day, Traoré was also arrested. The prime minister allegedly blames “Canardo” for publishing an article in which he was criticised. In August 1999, the authorities suspended the weekly for three months and the paper’s editor-in-chief was detained for several hours.
