The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns the arrest, detention and subsequent indictment of journalist Pape Alé Niang, director of the privately-owned news website, DakarMatin. We call on the Senegalese authorities for the unconditional release of the journalist and the dropping of all charges against him.
The police was granted authorization by the judicial authorities to keep Niang under arrest on November 9, 2022. Before the indictment, the journalist had already been held for three days.
According to the authorities, the journalist is being charged with publishing information that could harm national defence, possessing documents administrative and military, and spreading false news that could discredit public institutions.
Niang was a well-known Senegalese journalist for his column on current affairs. on the ordersAmady Diaff, the public procuror. The prosecutor said Niang has repeatedly made unfounded allegations against the defence and security forces for some time and that the journalist has also been attacking the country’s defence establishment.
These accusations are related to a November 3, 2022 publication by the journalist in the which he claimed that the military had tampered the outcome of their investigations into the rape allegations against Ousmane sonko, a top politician.
“He is accused of disclosing information of a military nature without authorisation of the military and information likely to harm national defence. In addition, he is accused of acts that are likely to disturb public order, to create disturbances that could hinder the normal functioning of institutions and finally of breaching professional secrecy,” explains Esq. Ciré Clésdor Ly, Pape Alé Niang’s lawyer, who also denounces a blatant infringement on press freedom and freedom of expression.
According to Pierre Aloba Diémé, a journalist with DakarMatinPape Niang was spoken to by a telephone caller of the MFWA. He was arrested in the town without an arrest warrant and taken into custody that day at the Dakar central station.
Niang’s arrest has provoked indignation among the majority of the press in Senegal and organisations defending journalists’ rights. The Coordination of Press Associations (CAP) and the Syndicat des professionnels de l’information et de la communication du Sénégal (SYNPICS), MFWA’s partner in Senegal, have expressed full support for the journalist.
The MFWA joins Senegalese media organizations to demand the immediate release from detention of the journalist. We urge the Senegalese authorities to abide by the country’s constitution which guarantees press freedom.
Journalists can contest the allegations with a rejoinder. It is an abuse of power to summarily declare a publication false news and, consequently, proceed to punish the author.
We therefore call on the Senegalese authorities for protection of journalists and other media outlets in Senegal from harassment, intimidation, and any other form of infringement of their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, and press freedom.
Source: mfwa.org
