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Men in military uniform seized and beat up the publisher of an Abidjan newspaper, ‘La Reference’ and three of his staff on 16 May, local media reported.
The semi-official ‘Fraternite-Matin’ said the action was in apparent “punishment for an article ‘La Reference’ published the week before. The daily had claimed that trips the president’s wife made to various parts of the country cost 100 million CFA francs each. In another article, it said that Guei’s government was weak and could easily be overthrown.
Another daily, ‘Le Jour’, named the victims as: Patrice Pohe, the publisher; Eugene Kanga De Bekano, a copy editor; culture editor Jean-Claude Ragazza and photographer Constance Nizako. They were released after their ordeal.
The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) complained on 17 May in a letter to the Ivoirian President, General Robert Guei, about the beating of the journalists and “the degradation of freedom of the press in Cote ‘Ivoire”.
The Ivorian League of Human Rights, LIDDHO, said it would investigate the incident.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
