Central African Republic
The editor of a Central African Republic weekly nePosted Apr 2 2008
The editor of a Central African Republic weekly newspaper was sentenced to sixth months in prison Jan. 28. Faustin Bambou, editor of Les Collines de l’Oubangui was found guilty by the Bangui Magistrates’ Court for inciting revolt, abuse and defamation, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In a December 2007 article, Bambou reported that two Central African Republic ministers had taken 7 billion CFA francs (US $16million) in illegal commissions from a French company, according to local journalists. CPJ reported the embezzled money was earmarked to cover the salaries of civil servants.
CPJ condemns the sentence and believes that the ruling should be overturned. “The Central African Republic’s court ruling defies its own laws, which decriminalized press offenses three years ago,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “We call on the court to hear Faustin Bambou’s appeal immediately and overturn this faulty ruling.”
According to CPJ, Bambou was the second Central African Republic journalist sent to prison for his work since the country decriminalized press relations in 2005. In July 2003 Bambou was pressed by police to reveal his sources from a story, which claimed that a local businessman tried to extort the government, according to CPJ research.