One month after the coup in Niger, breaches of press freedom are causing grave concern. African news professionals, mobilized by RSF, are publishing an appeal to Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). The signatories demand respect for press freedom in the country.
The African press freedom community, acting for the sake of journalists in Niger, have taken up the RSF initiative, out of deep concern following the military coup of 26 July. The RSF initiative is supported by top executives from Nigerien media, including Moussa Aksar, editor of the newspaper L’Événement, and from Africa overall, including Haman Mana, editor of the daily Le Jour in Cameroon.
The list of signatories also includes journalists’ rights advocates such as the ‘’Maison de la Presse’’ in Niger, the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), as well as the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO).
“Since the coup on 26 July, local and international journalists have been physically attacked and cyber-harassed. Some media have been shut down. Freedom of the press and information pluralism are being directly challenged. But the rights to inform and be informed should never be disputed in the context of the political instability running through Niger. From Niamey to Djibouti and from N’Djamena to Antananarivo, journalists and organisations are uniting to call on the Niger junta to respect the fundamental right to reliable and diverse information, and to not hinder the work of news professionals.” (Sadibou Marong, Director, RSF sub-Sahara Bureau
A number of troubling events show the growing threat to press freedom since the military coup. Soufiane Mana Hassan, editor of the newspaper Le Témoin de l’Histoire, told RSF that on 28 July unidentified individuals threatened him on the street near his house, telling him to watch out what he published in his paper and on his social media. A few days later, blogger and journalist Samira Sabou was questioned by a member of the military, who contacted her by phone, criticizing one of her social media posts. The journalist had shared a message from deposed president Mohamed Bazoum.
Threats and intimidation also target foreign journalists. On 19 August, independent journalists Amaury Hauchard and Stanislas Poyet, who are based in Niamey and contribute to a number of international media outlets, were attacked physically and verbally while covering a gathering of “volunteers for the homeland.” Poyet’s passport, as well as the journalists’ photo and radio equipment, were stolen. The two were beaten, with Hauchard requiring two stitches to his lip. Several days before, Anne Fleur Lespiaut, correspondent for the international French-language channel TV5 Monde was hit by a cyber-harassment campaign of junta supporters. Some of them demanded that she be declared “persona non grata,” while others called for a “settling of accounts” with her. RFI and France 24 broadcasters were shut down indefinitely on 3 August.
The signatories call on the CNSP to respect the work of local and international news professionals within the country. The junta must also bring an end to verbal attacks and threats against journalists, including by CNSP members, and to publicly condemn such attacks from within its ranks. Threats and attacks on journalists must be subject to criminal investigation so that those responsible can be identified and prosecuted, and so that assaults on the right to inform cease.
PRÉSIDENTIELLE 2024
FRANCE
