TEMPLATE New York, December 4, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned at the jailing in Benin of two journalists convicted of criminal defamation. A court in the capital Cotonou sentenced editor Clément Adéchian and reporter Cécil Adjévi of the private daily L’Informateur to six months in prison on December 2. It also fined…
New York, February 21, 2007–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns criminal convictions handed down on Friday in Benin against three journalists and an executive of private Golfe media group over a February 2005 story alleging governmental corruption. A court in the capital Cotonou sentenced Golfe media group President Ismael Soumano, former Golfe FM Director Euloge…
New York, February 9, 2007—An appeals court in the capital Cotonou released today two journalists of a private daily newspaper after they publicly retracted a rape story. They were jailed since December 2, 2006 on a six-month criminal libel sentence. Director Clément Adéchian and reporter Cécil Adjévi of L’Informateur were released after agreeing to an…
New York, December 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned at the jailing in Benin of two journalists convicted of criminal defamation. A court in the capital Cotonou sentenced editor Clément Adéchian and reporter Cécil Adjévi of the private daily L’Informateur to six months in prison on December 2. It also fined them…
September 18, 2006 Posted: September 22, 2006 Cyril Saïzonou, Djakpata HARASSED Police arrested Saïzonou, director of the private daily Djakpata, and questioned him about articles published in the September 1 and September 8 editions of the paper, according to CPJ sources. Several articles were critical of the police, while another alleged that a top government…
September 15, 2006 Posted: September 22, 2006 Virgil Linkpon, La Diaspora de Sabbat Fulric Richard Couao-Zotti, La Diaspora de Sabbat IMPRISONED Linkpon and Couao-Zotti, respectively managing editor and editor of the private weekly La Diaspora de Sabbat, were arrested in connection with a story about the president’s family, according to CPJ sources in the capital…
New York, August 19, 2004—At least four Beninese reporters face criminal defamation charges and two of them have already spent time in prison this year—the first journalists to be imprisoned for their work since 1996 in the West African nation. The defendants include Patrick Adjamonsi, publication director of the private daily L’Aurore, who was released…
New York, May 3, 2004—Jean-Baptiste Hounkonnou, publication director of the Beninese independent daily Le Nouvel Essor, was granted a provisional release after spending six weeks in jail on criminal defamation charges. On April 27, Benin’s Court of Appeal granted Hounkonnou’s request for provisional release, and he was freed the same day, according to CPJ sources.…
New York, March 22, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the imprisonment of Jean-Baptiste Hounkonnou, publication director of the independent daily Le Nouvel Essor, which is based in Parakou, a city in the eastern central region of Benin. Honkounnou was arrested and imprisoned following a March 16 court conviction on charges of criminal defamation.…