On 9 January 2009, Reporters Without Borders condemned a three-year prison sentence handed down to Lewis Medjo, managing editor of the weekly "La Détente libre", and urged the authorities to allow him bail. He has been in Douala central prison in the west of the country since 22 September 2008.
Medjo was found guilty on 7 January of "spreading false news" and sentenced by the Douala court to three years in prison and a fine of two million CFA francs (approx. 3,000 euros) in connection with the publication on 7 August 2008, of an article headlined quotes "Thunderbolt at the Supreme Court: Biya fires Dipanda Mouelle". This referred to an alleged move by the head of state, Paul Biya, to push the first president of the Supreme Court, Alexis Dipanda Mouelle, into taking early retirement in 2009.
The newspaper has also established a further link between the arrest of the journalist and the appearance of another article published in August 2008, headlined "Mebe Ng'o puts (Yves-Michel) Fotso's passport up for auction" This article referred to an alleged attempt to extort money from businessman Victor Fotso, father of Yves-Michel Fotso, also a businessman, with the collusion of Delegate General for National Security, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o.
"This latest sentence underlines the fact that African jurisdictions far too often respond to press offences by imprisoning journalists rather than through fairer and more appropriate solutions", the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
"Even if it is established that libel has been committed, the very harsh penalty imposed on Lewis Medjo does no credit to the Cameroon justice system and does nothing to undo the harm suffered by the victim. The authorities should be aware that they are making a new martyr of him when they should be resolving this case by other means."
Lewis Medjo was arrested on 22 September 2008 and held in custody at the Littoral police division. He was then placed under arrest at Douala central prison on the orders of the public ministry, on 26 September. His trial was adjourned on several occasions for "administrative reasons".
Comments 1 to 1 of 1 Post a comment
Global Conscience Initiative strongly condemns the sentencing to three years imprisonment of Lewis Medjo, Managing Editor of Cameroons weekly La Détente libre newspaper. Medjo, who was arrested in September, has been in custody since then and his case suffered many adjournments for administrative reasons. He was finally nailed, January 7, 2009, to a three-years jail term and fined three (3) million francs CFA. Global Conscience strongly posits that the sentencing of the journalist constitutes an abuse of the right to free speech and urges the Cameroon authorities to review the Medjo Case.
Global Conscience Chief Executive, Samba Churchill, who is also the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) focal point in Cameroon for journalists, said sentencing journalists to prisons terms on creates more problems and provides solution to any problems.
Mr. Samba said at a December 2008 workshop in Yaounde, Cameroon, organized by the ACHPR, Journalists from the Central African Subregion moved against the criminalization of libel.
Sentencing journalists to jail terms because of their practice is a serious impediment to free speech as it creates fear in journalists, Mr. Samba said. We are urging governments to create an enabling environment for journalists and ease their access to information. When you hold back information from journalists how do you turn around and prosecute them for spreading false news?
Global Conscience is calling on all journalists and media associations in Cameroon to take the sentencing of Medjo seriously and to find ways of ending the imprisonment of journalists.
Samba