Côte d’Ivoire Reporter Pressured to Name his Sources

Konan refused to name his sources for a tweet about an alleged theft from a bank’s branch in Daoukro, for which he was finally fined 3 million CFA francs (4,500 euros) at a hearing in Abidjan on 18 July as a result of a defamation suit by the bank, NSIA Banque. He plans to appeal.

Now a freelancer, Konan used to work for the newspaper L'Eléphant Déchaîné and has participated in several international investigations including the Pandora Papers, West Africa Leaks and FinCen Files – a leak from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that was investigated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The head of the local NSIA Banque branch and the local police chief tried to get Konan to name his sources for the tweet during an initial informal interrogation in Daoukro on 3 June that lasted two hours.

“The Daoukro police commissioner and the head of the branch asked me to reveal the sources for my information and their intention, which I refused to do,” Konan said. “They kept at it for two hours insisting that I reveal my sources to them (…) They then forced me to go with them to the police station, where I was interviewed without any lawyer being present.”

After a second interrogation in Abidjan on 13 July, at which he again refused to name his sources, Konan was taken into police custody and was not released until the next morning.