• 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

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

  • Date of Occurrence
    December 20, 2019
  • Details
  • Comments 0
  • prev
  • next
  • Bookmark
  • Share
  • Report
  • Leave a review
  • prev
  • next
Image
Description

A court in Benin has sentenced an investigative journalist to 18 months in prison and a fine of CFA francs 200,000 (about US$ 400) for a post on social media.

Ignace Sossou was arrested and detained on December 20, 2019 at his home by officials of the central office for the suppression of cybercrime and sentenced on December 24, 2019.

The day before his arrest, the journalist had posted on his Facebook and Twitter pages remarks made by the Public Prosecutor, Mario Metonou on “fake news.”

“The internet shutdown on (legislative) polling day on April 28 is an admission of weakness on the part of those in power,” read the social media post said to be the words of the prosecutor.

“The legal system in Benin in its present state does not offer judicial security to litigants,” said another post attributed to the Prosecutor.

Ignace Sossou, who works with the online media, Benin Web TV, was sentenced for “harassment through electronic means of communication” after the Prosecutor complained that the remarks had been taken out of context.

The journalist’s lawyer, Prisca Oboubi, has protested that even if Sossou were guilty, the law provided for a maximum sentence of 12 months. It is therefore mind-boggling that the judge sentenced the journalist to 18 months.

The investigative journalists’ network, Réseau 3i, has issued a communiqué demanding the immediate release of Ignace Sossou

It is the second time this year that Sossou has been sentenced under Benin’s digital code. On August 12, 2019, he was sentenced to a one-month suspended jail term and a fine of CFA francs 550,000 (about US$ 850).The journalist had published two investigative articles in which he made tax evasion allegations against a company, owned by a French business tycoon, Jean Luc Tchifteyan.

The MFWA is concerned about the conviction of Ignace Sossou for a merely relaying the remarks of the Public Prosecutor.  Assuming that he misquoted the prosecutor, the journalist still deserves the benefit of being notified and asked to rectify the information.  The recourse to criminal justice to litigate a case of false publication in a country that has decriminalised libel is disturbing.

Details
  • Date of Occurrence
    2019-12-20
  • Source
    https://www.mfwa.org/country-highlights/journalist-jailed-18-months-for-misquoting-public-prosecutor-on-social-media/
Region
  • Benin Republic
Rights & Freedom Violated
  • Anti-NGO Bills & Restrictive Laws
  • Press Freedom
Gender of Victim(s)
  • Male
Mode of Attacks
  • Anti NGO and Restrictive Laws
  • Forced Disappearances, Unlawful Arrests and Detention
  • Trials, Prosecution and Persecutions
  • Comments are closed.
  • You May Also Be Interested In

    Benin: 12 Months in Prison for Activist Jean Kpoton

      Jan13
      • Anti-NGO Bills & Restrictive Laws
      • +1

      Two Protesters Killed, Internet Shut down, Journalist Detained in a Two-Week Frenzy

        Apr18
        • Digital closure and Surveillance
        • +2

        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