Niger journalist held without charges
By Leah McBride Mensching, Friday 12 October 2007 at 22:08 :: Press Freedom & Laws :: #690 :: rss
Police in Niger are continuing to detain a journalist who ran the only newspaper in the region, which has been made unstable by a continuing rebellion against government, Voice of America news reported Friday.
No official charges have been filed against Manzo Diallo,who published Air Info. He has been transferred back to his hometown, Agadez, which is under military occupation and a government state of alert. This makes his case difficult to track, Leonard Vincent, of journalism watchdog group Reporters Sans Frontieres, told VOA.
“Which one will be next?” Vincent said, according to VOA. “Which journalist will be taken in custody and accused of extravagant charges? It raises a lot of concerns for us, because it will be difficult for us to visit him. It will be difficult to get information.”
Diallo was arrested late Tuesday as he was trying to leave the country for three months to train in France, his family said, according to VOA. Police are accusing him of working for Radio France International, whose correspondent, Moussa Kaka, is also being detained on accusations of plotting with rebels against Niger's government. Should Kaka be found guilty, he faces life in prison.
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