Niger: Editor and founder sentenced
Published: February 20, 2008
English PEN protests the one-month prison sentence imposed on Ibrahim Souley and Soumana Idrissa Maiga on 8 February 2008.
On 4 December 2007, Ibrahim Souley, managing editor of the bi-monthly publication L'Enquêteur, was arrested by the Niamey Criminal Investigation Department. The following day, the publication's founder, Soumana Idrissa Maiga was also arrested. Both men were detained for several days, following a libel complaint against the newspaper from the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zène. On 7 December, both men appeared before the Office of the State Prosecutor at the Niamey Special Magistrates Court, and were released on bail.
On 8 February 2008, Souley and Maiga were both sentenced to one month in jail. They were also ordered to pay a symbolic fine of 40,000 Francs (around 60 Euros) each to the Minister. The charges stem from articles published on 19 November 2007 alleging that the Minister was involved in granting state projects illegally and encouraging mismanagement of public finances. Their defence lawyer said they would appeal the decision.
In a recent report, International PEN noted that writers and journalists in Africa who report on corruption are particularly liable to face imprisonment on criminal defamation charges, including libel (see Free Expression, Corruption and Criminal Defamation in Africa -Click here ).
For background information on Niger, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1054396.stm
Please send appeals
- Expressing concern that the sentence imposed on Ibrahim Souley and Soumana Idrissa Maiga violates their right to freedom of expression and opinion, guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Niger is party
- Urging the Nigerien authorities to quash the prison sentence imposed on Souley and Maiga
Send your appeals to:
President
Président de la République: S.E.M .Tandja Mamadou
PO Box 369
Niamey, Niger
Fax: 227 2073 3430
To send a message using the Internet, please follow this link
http://www.presidence.ne/reaction.php?mail_dest=pneniger@gmail.com
Permanent Mission of Niger to the United Nations
H.E. Mr. Aboubacar Ibrahim Abani
417 East 50th Street
New York, NY - 10022
Phone:(212)421-3260/61/86
Fax:(212)753 6931
niger@un.int