Annual Prison Census 2012 - Burkina Faso
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 11 December 2012 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Annual Prison Census 2012 - Burkina Faso, 11 December 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50c7028623.html [accessed 2 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2012
Burkina Faso: 1
Lohé Issa Konaté, L'Ouragan
Imprisoned: October 29, 2012
Konaté, editor of the private weekly L'Ouragan, was taken into custody after a judge in the capital, Ouagadougou, sentenced him to one year in prison on criminal charges of defaming state prosecutor Placide Nikiéma, news reports said.
Nikiéma filed a complaint in response to August articles alleging the prosecutor's office mishandled a counterfeiting case and an inheritance dispute. Nikiéma denied the allegations, news reports said.
Konaté was also fined 1.5 million CFA francs (US$2,900) and ordered to pay damages of 4 million CFA francs (US$7,800) to the plaintiff. The judge also banned L'Ouragan from circulation for six months. Defense lawyer Halidou Ouédraogo said an appeal would be filed, news reports said, but Konaté was imprisoned after the sentencing.
The judge convicted Roland Ouédraogo, a contributor to L'Ouragan, in connection with the coverage and issued a warrant for his arrest, according to local journalists. The judge imposed the same sentence against Ouédraogo, who was still at large in late year. Konaté was held at Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction de Ouagadougou.
