• INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events
Menu
  • INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events

Benin: 12 Months in Prison for Activist Jean Kpoton

  • Date of Occurrence
    January 13, 2021
  • Details
  • Comments 0
  • prev
  • next
  • Bookmark
  • Share
  • Report
  • Leave a review
  • prev
  • next
Image
Description

Arrested at his home on January 13, 2021, activist Jean Kpoton was set on his fate on Tuesday after a trial. For the acts of “harassment through electronic communication” with which he is accused, he was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 FCFA.

It should be remembered that Jean Kpoton was arrested on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, at his home in Porto-Novo. Detained before and thrown in prison on January 18, 2021, his trial opened on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. He is accused of a comment on social networks about the front page of a newspaper, according to which Patrice Talon would have rented his private Range Rover to the State for millions of CFA francs as part of his last national tour.

The acts of "harassment through electronic communication" for which he is convicted, are provided for and punished by Law No. 2017-20 on the digital code in the Republic of Benin. Article 550 of the said law condemns through paragraphs 1,2 and 3 any form of harassment through electronic communication. Fines vary from 500,000 FCFA to 10,000,000 FCFA, and prison sentences range from 01 month to 2 years.

Actions Taken

On 18th January 2022, good governance activist Jean Kpoton was released from prison after having served his prison sentence of one year. The activist was arrested on 13th January 2021 and charged with 'harassment by means of electronic communication' under the Digital Code for having claimed, on Facebook, that the car that president Talon used for a cross-country tour cost six million CFA francs (9,660 USD). On 9th February 2021, Kpoton was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 CFA francs.

Details
  • Date of Occurrence
    2021-01-13
  • Perpetrator
    Benin republic government
  • Source
    https://archives-beninwebtv-com.translate.goog/2021/02/benin-12-mois-de-prison-ferme-pour-lactiviste-jean-kpoton/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Region
  • Benin Republic
Rights & Freedom Violated
  • Anti-NGO Bills & Restrictive Laws
  • Freedom of Expression
Gender of Victim(s)
  • Male
Mode of Attacks
  • Anti NGO and Restrictive Laws
  • Ban, Sanctions and Fines
  • Forced Disappearances, Unlawful Arrests and Detention
  • Trials, Prosecution and Persecutions
  • Comments are closed.
  • You May Also Be Interested In

    Outrage As Benin Republic Police Storm Ogun, Arrest Nigerian Activist

      Jun24
      • Freedom of Expression

      Journalist Jailed 18 Months for “Misquoting” Public Prosecutor on Social Media

        Dec20
        • Anti-NGO Bills & Restrictive Laws
        • +1

        Le Soleil Bénin Info Media Outlet Owner and Editor are Sentenced to Six Months’ Suspended Imprisonment.

          Nov18
          • Anti-NGO Bills & Restrictive Laws
          • +1

          This site is supported by:

          FGHR-150x50
          OSF-150x50
          fh
          ford-foundation-logo-150x50

          Closing Civic Spaces is a publicly-available database on closing spaces for civic engagement and civil society in Nigeria & West Africa. Data  is compiled from public sources.

          • +234-814-500-0067
          • Lagos, Nigeria

          Stay informed

          Get incidents as they happen

          Support our campaign to protect the civil society space

          Donate Now
          Donate to Defend the Civil Society Space

          © 2019 Closing Civic Spaces by Spaces for Change. Spaces for Change is a member of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.

          Images, texts, & other forms of content are copyright of their respective owners.

          Cart

          • Facebook
          • Twitter
          • WhatsApp
          • Telegram
          • Pinterest
          • LinkedIn
          • Tumblr
          • VKontakte
          • Mail
          • Copy link