Niger ramps up censorship
Dear Mr. President: We are writing to express our alarm at your administration’s increasing restrictions on the Nigerien private press. We are concerned by the ongoing censorship of stories about the public opposition to your plans for a constitutional amendment that would scrap presidential term limits.
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Niger
With a simmering insurgency in the north, a split within the ruling government, and talk of a constitutional amendment to allow President Mamadou Tandja to run for a third term in 2009, authorities increasingly tightened restrictions on the press. The high-profile imprisonment of Moussa Kaka, a reporter well known for his coverage of the insurgency,…
CPJ welcomes release of Moussa Kaka
New York, October 7, 2008–The Committee to Protect Jounalists welcomes today’s provisional release of veteran Nigerien journalist Moussa Kaka after more than a year behind bars on anti-state charges. An appeals court in the capital, Niamey, ordered Kaka’s release on bail pending trial by a magistrate court on amended charges of “undermining national territorial integrity…
Niger broadcaster suspended; violations unspecified
New York, August 20, 2008—Authorities in Niger summarily suspended a private broadcaster for a month citing unspecified regulatory violations, according to local journalists and news reports. The station has provided sympathetic coverage of the country’s former prime minister, now jailed on corruption charges, according to several sources. In a ruling obtained by CPJ, the state-run…
Government ban on RFI lifted after 3 months
NIGER: June 12, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 Original alert: March 13, 2008Radio France Internationale CENSORED French broadcaster Radio France Internationale resumed FM broadcasts in Niger following a three-month suspension imposed by Niger authorities in March, according to news reports.
Niger renews suspension of RFI
New York, March 13, 2008—Niger’s official media regulator summarily suspended on Wednesday the FM broadcasts of France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI) for three months. Authorities accused RFI of discrediting the government in connection with a day-long series of programs on Monday about the detention of RFI correspondent Moussa Kaka.
Editor and owner imprisoned for defamation
FEBRUARY 5, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 Ibrahim Souley, L’Enqueteur Soumana Idrissa Maiga, Director of L’Enqueteur LEGAL The editor and managing director of L’Enqueteur were each sentenced to one month in jail and a CFA 40,000 (US$90) fine by a Niamey court on February 5 for defamation charges made by the minister of finance and…