19 April 2004

Alert

Two journalists granted provisional release


Incident details

Mathurin Constant Momet, Patrick Bakwa

released
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Two journalists granted provisional release

New York, April 19, 2004-Mathurin Constant Momet, publication director of the independent daily Le Confident, and Le Confident Editor-in-Chief Patrick Bakwa, were granted provisional release from police custody on April 17 after being held for about 24 hours. However, the two were today charged with criminal defamation, after Pierre Ouadda-Diale, a local lawyer, filed suit last week.

The charges relate to a report about a press conference by Maximilien Boganda, a Central African businessman. Le Confident reported that during the press conference, Boganda criticized his former lawyer, Ouadda-Diale, and the CAR's judicial system.

Local sources said the two were summoned to the police station on the morning of Friday, April 16, because Ouadda-Diale filed defamation charges against them. Momet told a local radio station on Friday afternoon that the state prosecutor was keeping them in detention pending the return of Boganda, who is currently in France, to confirm or deny the statements attributed to him.

Momet and Bakwa, who were released from detention on Saturday, answered a summons to the gendarmerie in the capital, Bangui, today, and were then taken to the Prosecutor's office, according to CPJ sources. They were informed that their trial would take place on Friday.

"We are deeply concerned that these journalists still face criminal charges for their work," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "We urge the government of the Central African Republic to make good on its promises to decriminalize press offences."

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions in the Central African Republic, visit http://www.cpj.org



Source:

Committee to Protect Journalists
330 7th Ave., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
USA
info (@) cpj.org
Phone: +1 212 465 1004
Fax: +1 212 465 9568
 

Stay on top of free expression news.

Sign up to receive the weekly IFEX Communiqué.


More on this case

Two journalists detained 16 April 2004

Central African Republic

Press Freedom Day presidential pardon for jailed newspaper editor 4 May 2012 Editor sentenced to 10 months in jail on libel charge 27 January 2012 Editor jailed in politicised case 26 January 2012 Judge fines and releases two journalists 14 July 2011 Prosecutor seeks three-year jail terms for detained editors 8 July 2011 See all alerts: Central African Republic


 
IFEX is a global network of committed organisations working to defend and promote free expression.
Permission is granted for material on this website to be reproduced or republished in whole or in part provided the source member and/or IFEX is cited with a link to the original item.