Niger

New York, November 18, 2008--Two Nigerien journalists were sentenced to prison today on criminal libel charges over editorials critically scrutinizing the director of the country's electricity supplier, according to local journalists.

New York, October 7, 2008--The Committee to Protect Jounalists welcomes today's provisional release of veteran Nigerien journalist Moussa Kaka after more than a year behind bars on anti-state charges.

An appeals court in the capital, Niamey, ordered Kaka's release on bail pending trial by a magistrate court on amended charges of "undermining national territorial integrity through conspiracy with Tuareg rebels," defense lawyer Boureïma Fodi told CPJ. The charges, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, represent a lesser offense than the previous accusation of "complicity in undermining the authority of the state," which carries a life sentence, according to Fodi.

New York, August 20, 2008—Authorities in Niger summarily suspended a private broadcaster for a month citing unspecified regulatory violations, according to local journalists and news reports. The station has provided sympathetic coverage of the country’s former prime minister, now jailed on corruption charges, according to several sources.

In a ruling obtained by CPJ, the state-run High Council on Communications found Dounia Television and Radio in “noncompliance with regulatory terms and conditions,” but provided no further explanation. Dounia Deputy Director-General Ali Idrissa disputed the vague allegation, saying the station did not receive notice about any such issue prior to the ruling. Today, Council President Daouda Diallo declined to comment to CPJ, saying he was in a meeting. “The suspension of Dounia Television and Radio on unsubstantiated grounds is part of a pattern of a government censorhip of media outlets, whether local or foreign, for critical coverage,” said Robert Mahoney, CPJ’s deputy director. “We call on the government to lift this suspension immediately and allow the station to broadcast freely.”

NIGER:

June 12, 2008
Posted July 24, 2008

Original alert: March 13, 2008Radio France Internationale
CENSORED

French broadcaster Radio France Internationale resumed FM broadcasts in Niger following a three-month suspension imposed by Niger authorities in March, according to news reports.

June 2008
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, March 13, 2008—Niger’s official media regulator summarily suspended on Wednesday the FM broadcasts of France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI) for three months. Authorities accused RFI of discrediting the government in connection with a day-long series of programs on Monday about the detention of RFI correspondent Moussa Kaka.

Newspaper director imprisoned over critical editorials
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
Posted March 14, 2008
 
Aboubacar Gourouza, L’Eveil Plus
IMPRISONED, LEGAL

Police in the capital, Niamey, arrested Aboubacar Gourouza, director of the bimonthly L’Eveil Plus, and took him into custody over two separate complaints triggered by critical editorials published on January 29, according to news reports and local journalists.

NIGER:

CASE UPDATE

FEBRUARY 6, 2008
Original Alert: October 11, 2007

Ibrahim Manzo Diallo, Aïr Info

President Mamadou Tandja pledged in January that his government would not obstruct the press, but journalists in Niger faced threats and restrictions as the military tried to repress a budding Tuareg insurgency in the north. In a country that has suffered devastating famines in recent years, food shortages remained another sensitive topic for the press. Local journalists continued to face the threat of jail time for critical reporting under Niger’s 1999 media law, despite a promise in January by then-Prime Minister Hama Amadou that a long-discussed bill to decriminalize press offenses would be introduced in parliament. Amadou resigned in June following a parliamentary no-confidence vote, and his successor, Seyni Oumarou, did not indicate whether he would follow up on the issue.

FEBRUARY 5, 2008
Posted February 29, 2008

Ibrahim Souley, L'Enqueteur
Soumana Idrissa Maiga, Director of L'Enqueteur
LEGAL

The editor and managing director of L'Enqueteur were each sentenced to one month in jail and a CFA 40,000 (US$90) fine by a Niamey court on February 5 for defamation charges made by the minister of finance and economy. The prosecutor appealed the same day but the new court date for Editor Ibrahim Souley and Director Soummana Idrissa Maiga has not been set, reported Boubacar Diallo, president of the Niger Association of Independent Press Editors.