Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has urged President Abdoulaye Wade to quickly embark on a thorough overhaul of Senegal's press legislation after El Malick Seck, the editor of the Dakar-based daily 24 Heures Chrono, was sentenced to three years in prison on September 12 for an article claiming that the president was involved in money laundering.
"This sentence reflects all the unfairness and absurdity of Senegal's law on press offenses," Paris-based RSF said. "The alleged libel is in no way redressed by imposing a very severe sentence and now the government has a political prisoner on its hands. As a result of refusing to recognise that imprisonment is not the appropriate response in cases such as this, the authorities must now cope with the consequences of a repressive and dangerous system."
The press freedom organisation urged the government to do everything necessary to have Seck released and then quickly draw up a timetable for reforming the press law and creating an independent media regulatory body in consultation with representative journalists.
Seck was convicted on charges of "activity liable to disrupt public order and cause serious political unrest," "disseminating false news," "public insult" and "illegal possession of government documents." His newspaper, which had initially been allowed to resume publishing after his arrest, was suspended by order of the court for three months.
Seck was arrested on August 28 just hours after 24 Heures Chrono ran a vaguely-sourced story claiming that President Wade and his son, Karim, had been involved in the laundering of money stolen in Côte d'Ivoire.
24 Heures Chrono was one of the two privately-owned newspapers whose premises were attacked in mid-August by men driving a government car, who smashed computers and sprayed tear-gas on employees.
On September 11, twelve men were given sentences ranging from five to six years in prison for these raids, which - some of them said - were "punitive operations" ordered by the newly-dismissed air transport minister, Farba Senghor.
