JULY 26, 2005
Posted: July 28, 2005
José Stéphane Koudou, Le Jour Plus
ATTACKED
Supporters of the ruling Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) party brutally assaulted Koudou, a political reporter for the private daily Le Jour Plus, according to local sources. The attack occurred as Koudou was reporting on a press conference planned by the youth wing of an alliance of opposition parties in the commercial capital, Abidjan.
Pro-FPI militia known as Young Patriots disrupted the press conference and attacked opposition supporters who were attending, according to local news reports. According to Koudou’s colleagues, his assailants confiscated his press card, which clearly showed that he worked for Le Jour Plus – a newspaper considered to be pro-opposition by FPI militants.
Koudou’s coworkers told CPJ that the journalist was beaten with iron bars, and that he sustained serious injuries on his skull, jaw and back from the assault.