UPDATE ON JAILED JOURNALISTS: MAMAN ABOU AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000865 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT: FOR AF/W, BACHMAN; DRL; AF/RSA, HARPOLE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV PHUM SOCI KCOR NG SUBJECT: UPDATE ON JAILED JOURNALISTS: MAMAN ABOU AND OUMAROU KEITA REF: NIAMEY 847 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. As noted reftel, Maman Abou and Oumarou Keita, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly "Le Republican," were tried by the Niamey Regional Court on August 14. Claiming that the men's detention in two separate prisons located far from the capitol was illegal, and that they would appeal on that basis, the defense team declined to present its case, and walked out of the proceedings after the prosecution finished its arguments. While an appeal on the basis of the incarceration may have legal merit, little else in the defense's case would appear to. By writing a completely unsubstantiated piece on Niger's supposed foreign policy "realignment," the two journalists put themselves in a position where the Government of Niger (GON) could use the country's defamation statute to punish them for their previous reporting on corruption issues. The government's willingness to pursue journalists via libel / defamation law has long posed a challenge to press freedom in Niger. It's recent invocation by Prime Minister (PM) Hama Amadou suggests that the GON will continue to respond to the more flagrant instances of opposition commentary in the same way, and that the government will not move to reform the country's libel / defamation statutes anytime soon. END SUMMARY -------------- THE TRIAL -------------- ¶2. In a day-long proceeding on August 14th, the prosecution presented its case, charging Abou and Keita with dissemination of false news and defamation of the government. The prosecution requested eighteen months of imprisonment for both men. For its part, the defense team played to the courthouse's large and sympathetic crowd of civil society and opposition activists with their dramatic walk out. However, they also seemed to acknowledge the legal weakness of their case - Nigerien law permits the government or its officials to pursue both criminal and civil penalties for defamation - and concentrated instead on the procedural issue of the men's incarceration. After their initial court appearance and indictment on August 8, Abou and Keita were split up and sent to two separate prisons, each of which is approximately 180 km distant from Niamey. Only their immediate relatives and lawyers were allowed to visit them. The defense team claims that this made it difficult for them to access their clients, and that it constituted a violation of Nigerien law, under which defendants undergoing trial are generally kept in the civil prison of Niamey. We expect a decision on the appeal to be made by the Niamey Court of Appeals within two days. If the Court of Appeals rejects the case, both men are likely to be convicted and sentenced by the Regional Court on September ¶1. -------------- PM HAMA AND THE PRESS -------------- ¶3. In a press conference on August 5, PM Amadou suggested that the libel and defamation laws used to prosecute Abou and Keita were a tool that the GON would not put down anytime soon. Referring to the Conseil Superior de la Communication (CSC),the regulatory body that governs Nigerien media, the PM noted: "It's true that the CSC is there to regulate, but we have believed that there is no regulation. Therefore, while we wait for the CSC to play its role, the government will take its responsibilities: if anyone violates the law with respect to the professional code of ethics, we will revoke their license, because one cannot understand that a radio station '(for example)' could call people to engage in civil war." This sentiment, coupled with the PM's support for the defamation case against Abou and Keita suggests that he has moved some distance from the stance he adopted in 2004 and 2005, when he publicly called for a decriminalization of libel and defamation. A bill to that effect has been pending before the National Assembly for over a year, but shows no sign of progressing toward passage. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶4. Press freedom in Niger can only advance hand in hand with the professionalization of the press. As noted reftel, Abou and Keita are not being prosecuted for their allegedly defamatory article on foreign policy, they are being NIAMEY 00000865 002 OF 002 prosecuted for their excellent investigative journalism during the PDDE scandal. However, by publishing a piece that violated media ethics and, thereby, Nigerien libel laws, the men opened themselves to prosecution. The same scenario has played itself out time and time again, though generally the opposition media organs or journalists in question have been far less responsible than "Le Republican." By publishing rumor as fact and vitriol as opinion, Niger's opposition media does a disservice to the public and sets itself up for one legal fall after another. END COMMENT. ALLEN