The French government along with major press freedom organisations have called for the immediate release of two French journalists held in Niger since 17 December. Reporter Thomas Dandois and cameraman Pierre Creisson were detained by Niger authorities on alleged charges of “breach of national security†says media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Dandois and Creisson work for Camicas Productions but were employed by Franco-German TV station Arte on an assignment in Niger. They are reported to have a Niger visa to cover bird flu in the southern city of Maradi.
Mohamed Ben Omar, the Niger communications minister and government spokesman has alleged that the detained journalists were arrested after they visited the banned Tuareg territories in the north of Niger. Their Nigerien driver Al Hassane Abdourrahmann has also been charged for similar offence for aiding the accused duo. The Niger Police claims that it has discovered footage and photos of Tuareg rebels on these journalists. They were stopped and held at Koré-Maïroua (200 km south of Niamey), on their way back to the capital. In its attempt to censor all media coverage of the conflict, Niger has officially banned all local and foreign media coverage of its uranium-rich Saharan North inhabited by the Tuareg tribes. A news report featuring on the website of Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that “journalists not only have a right but also a duty to cover the Tuareg rebellion and keep the public informed. We urge the authorities to release our colleagues immediately and lift the restrictions imposed on national and international broadcasters.†The tribe has formed The Nigerien People’s Movement for Justice (MNJ), and is fighting the black African-led government for autonomy and a greater share of their region’s mineral wealth. Since August, a state of alert has been declared in the Tuareg territory and military given extensive powers. If convicted of the charges, the two French journalists could face a possible death penalty.
Reporters Without Borders says that the alleged charges are “extremely serious and seems to be out of all proportion to what these two journalists are alleged to have done.†In its report, the apex press organisation is optimistic “an accord can be reached allowing them to be released.†Mousa Coulibaly, the lawyer of the accused reveals that in the preliminary trial, the two detained were ordered by the investigating judge to be moved to Kollo prison camp, 20 km outside capital, Niamey. Mohamed, the communications minister has blamed the journalists of “ producing a film and photos for use as propaganda in Europe for the armed bandits.†The Tuaregs have been officially labelled “rebels, illegals and armed bandits†by the government. Ever since the fighting began, at least 49 government troops have lost their lives and unknown number of Tuaregs has perished by then. Since February, there have also been massive arrests conducted in the North.
“The arrests of Dandois and Creisson are part of the government’s repressive tactics of criminalizing journalists who try to cover the conflict, says Joel Simar, Executive Director of Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the press freedom organisation.†He adds that the CPJ “calls on the government to abandon these practices, which undermine Niger’s democratic process.†Two other Nigerien journalists, Moussa Kaka, a correspondent for French broadcaster Radio France Internationale and Ibrahim Manzo Diallo, publisher of Agadez- based newspaper Air Info are also languishing in jail for their alleged links with the Tuaregs. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) along with its French affiliate, Syndicat National des Journalists have condemned the arrests and appealed for the release of all journalists under detention. “These journalists were doing their job,†said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “They are the victims of an intolerant and repressive action by a government which appears to have no respect for press freedom at all.â€
In the past, Niger authorities also arrested Francois Bergeron, an independent filmmaker from France sometime in September. He was under custody for a month and then deported after his alleged arrest from the rebel hotbed town of Agadez. In a statement commenting the nature and function of reporting, the IFJ says, “journalists who report on the political and social reality of society should never be victimised. Their actions in any free society would deserve praise, not punishment.†Instead, the Niger government kept the two journalists under constant “surveillance,†says the Niger government minister.
Jérôme Clément, the Executive Director of Arte and French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andréani said they were monitoring the situation very closely.
