Niger: Prisoners of conscience

Index Number: AFR 43/001/2006
Date Published: 4 September 2006
Categories: Africa, Niger

Amnesty International is calling for the immediate release of two journalists in Niger, who were sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment on 1 September 2006 for spreading false news and defaming the state. Amnesty International considers journalist Oumarou Keita and publisher Mamane Abou from the weekly newspaper Le Republicain to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. They have lodged an appeal, which will be examined on 11 September.