Niger detains 4 journalists accused of airing false reports about president

Published January 08, 2015

Niger's justice minister says the country has detained four journalists in the past week for broadcasting false accusations and "appeals to hatred and violence."

Marou Amadou said Wednesday that Ousmane Dan Badji, editor of the newspaper L'Union, and Zakari Amadou, a talk show host, were arrested Monday and would appear before a judge on suspicion of reporting "false accusations." Officials say that during a televised debate on Jan. 14 the journalists allegedly accused President Mahamadou Issoufou of corruption.

Two other journalists were detained on similar accusations last week but then released Monday, though the cases against them are still active.

Reporters Without Borders expressed concern about the four arrests Tuesday, calling on the charges against the four journalists to be dropped and for Badji and Amadou to be released.

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