FEBRUARY 10, 2006
Moustapha Sow, L’Office
LEGAL ACTION
Sow, director of the private newspaper L’Office, was sentenced to six months in prison for defaming businessman Bara Tall in articles about a high-profile corruption scandal. Sow, who was not immediately taken into custody, told CPJ that he planned to appeal.
The journalist said Tall brought the case after L’Office ran a series detailing corruption in public works projects in the central city of Thiès. Several articles mentioned the businessman. Idrissa Seck, the former prime minister and mayor, was imprisoned on corruption and national security charges in 2005 after President Abdoulaye Wade alleged that he had siphoned public money from the projects. Seck has denied the allegations