15 October 2008

TAKE ACTION! CALL FOR RELEASE OF INNOCENT JOURNALIST IN JAIL IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Jean-Paul Ney, an independent investigative journalist and war reporter from France, has been detained for nine months at the infamous MACA prison in Côte d'Ivoire. He is charged with endangering the security of the state - charges, his friends say, for the work that "investigative reporters typically do, and that Ney has been doing for over 10 years."

France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had advised his friends and family to remain silent on his case to expedite his release. But after nine months of incarceration, Ney's health is at its worst. He's been hospitalised twice, is being treated for malaria and is suffering from typhoid fever. His life is in danger, but authorities have not budged - not even a trial date has been set.

Ney is the author of numerous books, including "Black Book of Terrorism", "Smile, We're Watching You" and "Virtual Terror". He has worked for more than 10 years with various French and European media, including Canal+, I-Télé, "Paris-Match" and "Newsweek". He is known as the first and so far only European journalist to have been received by the U.S.'s National Security Agency for an exclusive story.

"Alert the press, friends, media, write to your state representatives to come to the aid of Jean-Paul Ney: the stronger the movement, the greater its impact on Jean-Paul's case," say his supporters, who have set up a "unifying" official website and a group on the social networking site Facebook to spread the word of his case. Check them out here:
- Free Jean-Paul Ney: http://www.freejeanpaulney.com
- Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3w9wx9
(15 October 2008)