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Viewing cable 06NIAMEY865, UPDATE ON JAILED JOURNALISTS: MAMAN ABOU AND

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06NIAMEY865 2006-08-16 17:37 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Niamey
VZCZCXRO2130
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #0865/01 2281737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161737Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2797
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000865 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT: FOR AF/W, BACHMAN; DRL; AF/RSA, HARPOLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PGOV PHUM SOCI KCOR NG
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON JAILED JOURNALISTS: MAMAN ABOU AND 
OUMAROU KEITA 
 
REF: NIAMEY 847 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  As noted reftel, Maman Abou and Oumarou Keita, the 
publisher and editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly "Le 
Republican," were tried by the Niamey Regional Court on 
August 14. Claiming that the men's detention in two separate 
prisons located far from the capitol was illegal, and that 
they would appeal on that basis, the defense team declined to 
present its case, and walked out of the proceedings after the 
prosecution finished its arguments. While an appeal on the 
basis of the incarceration may have legal merit, little else 
in the defense's case would appear to. By writing a 
completely unsubstantiated piece on Niger's supposed foreign 
policy "realignment," the two journalists put themselves in a 
position where the Government of Niger (GON) could use the 
country's defamation statute to punish them for their 
previous reporting on corruption issues. The government's 
willingness to pursue journalists via libel / defamation law 
has long posed a challenge to press freedom in Niger. It's 
recent invocation by Prime Minister (PM) Hama Amadou suggests 
that the GON will continue to respond to the more flagrant 
instances of opposition commentary in the same way, and that 
the government will not move to reform the country's libel / 
defamation statutes anytime soon. END SUMMARY 
 
--------- 
THE TRIAL 
--------- 
 
2.  In a day-long proceeding on August 14th, the prosecution 
presented its case, charging Abou and Keita with 
dissemination of false news and defamation of the government. 
The prosecution requested eighteen months of imprisonment for 
both men. For its part, the defense team played to the 
courthouse's large and sympathetic crowd of civil society and 
opposition activists with their dramatic walk out. However, 
they also seemed to acknowledge the legal weakness of their 
case - Nigerien law permits the government or its officials 
to pursue both criminal and civil penalties for defamation - 
and concentrated instead on the procedural issue of the men's 
incarceration. After their initial court appearance and 
indictment on August 8, Abou and Keita were split up and sent 
to two separate prisons, each of which is approximately 180 
km distant from Niamey. Only their immediate relatives and 
lawyers were allowed to visit them. The defense team claims 
that this made it difficult for them to access their clients, 
and that it constituted a violation of Nigerien law, under 
which defendants undergoing trial are generally kept in the 
civil prison of Niamey. We expect a decision on the appeal to 
be made by the Niamey Court of Appeals within two days. If 
the Court of Appeals rejects the case, both men are likely to 
be convicted and sentenced by the Regional Court on September 
1. 
 
--------------------- 
PM HAMA AND THE PRESS 
--------------------- 
 
3.  In a press conference on August 5, PM Amadou suggested 
that the libel and defamation laws used to prosecute Abou and 
Keita were a tool that the GON would not put down anytime 
soon. Referring to the Conseil Superior de la Communication 
(CSC), the regulatory body that governs Nigerien media, the 
PM noted: "It's true that the CSC is there to regulate, but 
we have believed that there is no regulation. Therefore, 
while we wait for the CSC to play its role, the government 
will take its responsibilities: if anyone violates the law 
with respect to the professional code of ethics, we will 
revoke their license, because one cannot understand that a 
radio station '(for example)' could call people to engage in 
civil war." This sentiment, coupled with the PM's support for 
the defamation case against Abou and Keita suggests that he 
has moved some distance from the stance he adopted in 2004 
and 2005, when he publicly called for a decriminalization of 
libel and defamation. A bill to that effect has been pending 
before the National Assembly for over a year, but shows no 
sign of progressing toward passage. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
4.  Press freedom in Niger can only advance hand in hand with 
the professionalization of the press. As noted reftel, Abou 
and Keita are not being prosecuted for their allegedly 
defamatory article on foreign policy, they are being 
 
NIAMEY 00000865  002 OF 002 
 
 
prosecuted for their excellent investigative journalism 
during the PDDE scandal. However, by publishing a piece that 
violated media ethics and, thereby, Nigerien libel laws, the 
men opened themselves to prosecution. The same scenario has 
played itself out time and time again, though generally the 
opposition media organs or journalists in question have been 
far less responsible than "Le Republican." By publishing 
rumor as fact and vitriol as opinion, Niger's opposition 
media does a disservice to the public and sets itself up for 
one legal fall after another. END COMMENT. 
ALLEN