A major journalist in Niger was in custody Saturday, an association said, a day after the private TV channel he runs was suspended following a report critical of the military-led regime.
Seyni Amadou, editor-in-chief of Canal 4 TV, has been arrested, said CAP-Medias-Niger, which represents media workers in the country.
On Friday, Niger's communications ministry announced the channel had been taken off the air for a month.
State television channel Tele Sahel said Canal 3 TV had been punished "for violating the rules of ethics and deontology".
Canal 3 told AFP in a statement that the suspension was "linked to a broadcast on the ranking of ministers" in the government of Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian appointed by the military regime.
In the report's ranking, Zeine was placed first and several of his ministers were called the "soft underbelly" of the government.
CAP said in a statement Friday it regretted Amadou's arrest and detention and called for the rights of journalists to be respected.
"Never in the history of media regulation in Niger has the decision to suspend a media been taken by the executive, including in so-called exceptional periods," it added.
CAP called on Communications Minister Sidi Raliou Mohamed to reconsider his decision.
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