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

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SUMMARY
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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

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THE TRIAL
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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.

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PM HAMA AND THE PRESS
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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.

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COMMENT
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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

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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