Newspaper director arrested for “insulting” president

The director of a daily newspaper in Bangui was arrested on 5 May and charged with “insulting the head of state” and “inciting hatred,” the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum said on Wednesday. In a joint letter to CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse, the two organisations expressed their “serious concern” at the arrest of Cardoso de Meillot, director of the privately-owned ‘Le Democrate’. The letter said de Meillot’s arrest, on the order of the state prosecutor, followed the publication of an article that suggested providing foreign aid to the government constituted a crime against the CAR people.

It called on Patasse to ensure de Meillot’s immediate release, and rescind court summonses issued against the directors of two other Bangui newspapers. “We also urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that in future, the Central African Republic fully respects its international commitments to freedom of expression,” the letter stated. Diplomatic sources in Bangui said that private publishers, in a demonstration of support for the three accused directors, refrained from printing their newspapers from 10-14 May.