Journo 'offended' president
2007-10-16 21:07
Dakar - A Senegalese newspaper publisher has been charged with insulting the head of state and faces up to five years in prison for a story about a night out by President Abdoulaye Wade, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Moussa Gueye, who publishes "L'Exclusif" newspaper in the town of Rufisque about 35 km from the capital Dakar,was arrested on October 8 after his journal ran a story about a night out by octogenarian Wade and one of his close aides.
After several days in detention, Gueye was formally charged
late on Monday with insulting the head of state, publishing
false news, and acts aimed at undermining public security, his
lawyer Cheikh Tidiane Faye said.
Called for his immediate release
Another journalist involved in the article has gone into
hiding, according to local media reports.
Senegal's journalists union and human rights organisations
have urged legal authorities to free Gueye. The New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists also called for his immediate
release.
Media watchdogs have complained about a string of arrests of
journalists in West Africa in recent months, some of them under
controversial laws to defend the president's reputation.
A court in Mali convicted five journalists and a teacher in
June for insulting President Amadou Toumani Toure over a high
shool essay assignment on the sexual indiscretion of an
imaginary head of state.