Publisher sentenced to six months in prison for slander

A court in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), sentenced on Friday the publisher of a privately owned daily newspaper, L’Hirondelle, to six months imprisonment for slandering CAR leader Francois Bozize. Justice Arsene Minime of the Tribunal of First Instance found Jude Zosse guilty of slander in an article reproduced on 25 February in the newspaper, describing Bozize as a "state tax-collector". State Prosecutor Firmin Feindiro had sought an 18-month imprisonment sentence for Zosse. Zosse was arrested after the publication in L’Hirondelle of the article that first appeared on a pro-opposition Website. He was held at Ngaragba Central Prison despite the calls for his release by journalists’ organisations such as the Groupement des Editeurs de la Presse Privee en Centrafrique, French-based Reporters Sans Frontieres and US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. "It is a gross mistake to attack the head of state when you have no evidence," Bozize said on Thursday at a meeting with political leaders. He added that the article was a "clear accusation" and that journalism did not mean attacking one’s privacy. Zosse became the second journalist to be arrested and sentenced after Michel Ngbokpele, who was convicted for allegedly slandering local medical and judicial officials in Mbaiki, 107 km southwest of Bangui. Zosse's sentencing comes as the country prepares to celebrate on Monday the first anniversary of Bozize’s coup against President Ange-Felix Patasse.