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Alert

Editor, journalist arrested, detained and summarily tried but spared punishment in defamation case

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 18 September 2006, a magistrate court in Plateau, a suburb of Abidjan, fined "Le Jour Plus", a pro-opposition daily newspaper, 15,000,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$29,000) for allegedly defaming President Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone Gbagbo.

According to MFWA-Cote d'Ivoire sources, Coulibaly Seydou, the editor-in-chief, and Eduardo Gonto, political correspondent of the newspaper, both of whom have been charged with the same offence, were not fined. The source said the two journalists were arrested on 12 September, detained overnight and moved to the prosecution office in Plateau, then tried summarily.

The 11 September edition of the "Le Jour Plus" newspaper published an article by Gonto, which stated that the image of the first family had been greatly affected by Simone Gbagbo's involvement in a recent toxic waste scandal that claimed six lives and left more than 900 people hospitalized.

The newspaper alleged that the waste was dumped at various sites in Abidjan by the Panamanian ship Probo Koala, and was imported into the country by a company belonging to Simone Gbagbo and two others.

"Le Jour Plus" has appealed against the ruling.