Posts Tagged ‘Ivory Coast’
January 3rd, 2012
Ivorian television presenter Hermann Aboa was
released on bail on 30 December after five months in prison. Aboa, a presenter with national state-run public broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), continues to face prosecution on a range of charges, including threatening the nation’s defences, attacking and conspiring against state authorities, undermining national territorial integrity and attacking public order. Aboa’s lawyer said he is due to be examined on the substance of the charges in the coming days. In July the presenter was detained for moderating a TV talk show series, launched during the crisis that followed the disputed November 2010 elections, which lauded former leader Laurent Gbagbo, who
controlled the station before he was ousted in April by forces loyal to his opponent, current president Alassane Ouattara.
November 29th, 2011
Three journalists in the
Ivory Coast were taken into
police custody on Thursday. César Etou, Boga Sivori and Didier Dépry from daily newspaper
Notre Voie were taken in for police questioning on suspicion of insulting the head of state and harming the national economy. Publisher Etou and Chief Political correspondent Sivori were questioned about an article that appeared in the newspaper about 40 new Mercedes official cars made available to members of the government, while the assistant editor Dépry was questioned about an article from the newspapers front page regarding the value of the CFA franc.
August 5th, 2011
The
Ivorian government has
suspended a newspaper for twelve days over an opinion piece that criticised a recent White House meeting with African leaders. The column in Les Temps newspaper — which supported former president Laurent Gbagbo — was originally published
online by a blogger critical of President Ouattara. It called Obama a “gang boss”, while describing an alleged conspiracy among the recently elected leaders of Benin, Niger, Guinea, and Ivory Coast to seize Africa’s riches. In its ruling, the state-run National Press Council called the writings “unacceptable”. The council previously suspended Le Temps for six editions over an 11 June column by reporter Germain Sehoué that claimed the Ouattara government was dominated ethnic groups from the North. The council suspended Sehoué from writing for two months, accusing him of “inciting tribal hatred and revolt” and “threatening the consolidation of peace in Ivory Coast.”
March 10th, 2011
Security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Abidjan on Tuesday, killing four people. They were protesting against the
deaths of seven female protesters and marking International Women’s Day. Ivory Coast has seen an increase in violence recently, with a rising number of
attacks on journalists and media organisations.
March 4th, 2011
BBC Radio and Radio France International (RFI) are now
off air in Ivory Coast. The government of Laurent Gbagbo denies taking action against the radio stations, but in the past the government has
blocked both these stations. Pro- and anti-government media have
complained of threats, harassment and attacks.
March 3rd, 2011
Nine independent and anti-government newspapers have
suspended publication following harassment from President Laurent Gbagbo supporters. The protesting newspapers also say they are regularly fined by the media regulator. Meanwhile, supporters of Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara,
attacked the main transmission centre of Radio-Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), the state-owned broadcaster.
February 21st, 2011
Ivorian police have issued summonses for questioning to several newspaper editors,
local journalists report. The summons were sent to editors seen to be favourable towards former presidential candidate Alassane Ouattara. The police accused the newspapers of “calling the army to mutiny, inciting the public not to recognize the authorities, and inciting hatred and violence”.
February 10th, 2011
Two reporters have received
death threats from people believed to be members of pro-Gbago militias, while one was threatened for being pro-Gbago. Madeleine Tanou and Kesy B. Jacobs were approached on separate occasions, accused of being critical of the Gbago government and threatened with being skinned alive. Assomon Anoh, meanwhile, was threatened by members of an anti-Gbago militia for synchronizing his station’s programme with that of Gbagbo controlled state-owned Ivorian Broadcasting Corporation (RTI).
