Journalist faces possible jail term in criminal defamation case

Ouagadougou – Thierry Nabyoure, a journalist with the privately-owned, Ouagadougou-based newspaper San Finna, faces a possible prison sentence if found guilty of charges resulting from an article he published in early 2007.

On 4 June 2007, an Ouagadougou court will hear a request by the State Prosecutor to give the journalist a 15-day jail term and a fine of 10,000 F CFA (approximately US$20) for allegedly defaming Colonel Mamadou Traoré, chief of staff of Burkina Faso’s National Gendarmerie.

Nabyoure was arrested on 26 March 2007, following a complaint filed by Traoré over an article published in issue 406 of "San Finna", which reported that Traoré had refused to go on a military training exercise in France.

He was detained for 48 hours, during which time he was forced to disclose his source of information and explain his motive.

Attempts by the country's professional organisations to settle the matter out of court proved futile as Traoré, on 30 April, brought defamation charges against the journalist.

Article by courtesy Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Accra