Burkina Faso journalist gets death threat

Titao - Abdoul Salam Quarma, a correspondent for the Agence d'Information de Burkina (AIB), a newswire service in Titao in the province of Lorum, 230km north of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, was threatened with death on 24 May 2007 by a group of irate youths over a news report that had upset them.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) correspondent reported that, if not for the intervention of the provincial authorities, the youths would have lynched Quarma and razed his house.

The MFWA correspondent said the action of the group followed a publication in the 23 May edition of the state-owned Sidwaya newspaper headlined Drinking competition turns tragic. The article, written by Quarma, alleged that one youth from Titao died after a drinking competition between two groups in the area.

The angry youths chanted anti-press freedom slogans and called for Quarma's death.

Meanwhile the Burkina Faso Journalists Association and the Association of Private Newspaper Publishers have condemned the threats against the journalist. A statement issued by the two groups called for support for Quarma. They also praised the authorities for protecting the journalist.

Source: IFEX