Attacks on the Press 2001: Djibouti

(NO COUNTRY SUMMARY)

January 15

Daher Ahmed Farah, Le Renouveau
IMPRISONED
Le Renouveau
CENSORED

Police detained Farah, editor of the opposition weekly Le Renouveau, at his home in Djibouti. He was taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, charged with defamation and distributing false news, and then released.

The arrest came after Djibouti police commissioner Daher Ismal Kahin filed a complaint over a January 11 Le Renouveau article that criticized him for ordering the destruction of the capital’s largest market. (Kahin claimed that the market had become a refuge for thieves and other criminals.)

Le Renouveau supports the opposition Democratic Renewal Party, of which Farah is also the leader. The paper was suspended while police investigated the commissioner’s complaint.