Patrice Pohe and Allan Alliali were interrogated for nearly nine hours.
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 21 July 2010, Patrice Pohe, journalist and communication adviser of Raymond Tchimou, the state prosecutor, was arrested and detained on the orders of his boss for allegedly leaking the report about embezzlement in the cocoa and coffee sector of the country to the privately-owned “Le Nouveau Courrier” newspaper.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) correspondent in Côte d’Ivoire reported that Pohe’s arrest followed a long grilling session with Allan Alliali, managing editor of privately-owned “Le Quotidien” newspaper.
The correspondent said the two were interrogated separately before another face-to-face session for nearly nine hours. Pohe was on 17 July, interrogated together with Boni Rosine, secretary to the state prosecutor for about six hours. Pohe was expected to appear in court on 23 July.
On 23 July, the Plateau Court in Abidjan, which is processing the trial of three detained editors of “Le Nouveau Courrier”, adjourned the case to 26 July without reason.
Meanwhile, the Ivorian police have scuttled a picket by the Ivorian Committee for Protection of Journalists (CIPJ) to protest the clamp down on journalists in the country. The police seized a camera and two cellular phones from the journalists and have since returned the equipment to them.
