The IPI global network condemns the one-year suspended prison term given to Benin journalist Virgile Ahouanse of the online radio Crystal News after being found guilty of publishing false news on his online media platform.
IPI calls for the decision to be reversed and urges authorities to stop using the country’s digital code to crack down on critical journalists, independent media, and civil society.
In November 2022, Ahouanse broadcast an investigative piece on an alleged killing of several individuals by the state police force in Dowa, in the outskirts of Porto-Novo, Benin’s capital. The piece was false news – it remains unclear who exactly brought the case – under the country’s digital code, Code du Numérique, which contains provisions that criminalize freedom of expression and press freedom online. In December 2022, Virgile Ahouanse was arrested and detained for two days before being released on bail.
According to reports, on June 15, the Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (Criet), a court set up by President Patrice Talon’s administration to fight economic malpractice sentenced Ahouanse to a suspended one-year prison term coupled with a fine of 200,000 CFA francs (305 euros)
Virgile Ahouanse is the latest in a list of journalists in Benin, including Ignace Sossou, Aristide Fassinou Hounkpevi, Patrice Sewanou Gbaguidi, Herve Serge Allade, and Casimir Kpejo among others, who have been arrested and prosecuted on the basis of the controversial digital code for simply doing their work of public information, or publishing online.
The digital code was adopted in 2018. By 2020, at least 17 people, including political dissidents, bloggers and journalists had been dragged before court and severely sentenced.
“There has never been a confrontation or an independent investigation following the publication of the incriminated piece”, Virgile Ahouanse told IPI ‘’We don’t know exactly who the plaintiff is. Is it the state or the police? We can assume it’s the police, but they never showed up at any of the hearings. How can we help establish the truth?”.
In addition to the Virgile Ahouanse, several others who appeared in court as witnesses or sources of information, including a security guard and a Dowa community leader, were also sentenced in relation to the alleged extra judicial killing. The security guard is still in detention at the time this statement was reviewed.
“The sentencing of Virgile Ahouanse is a further example of the weaponization of ‘fake news’ laws to suppress journalism”, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “Authorities in Benin must ensure that the digital code is not abused to stifle independent journalism, including reporting on human rights violations, and must urgently reform the law to ensure that it complies with international standards on freedom of expression.”
