The International Press Institute (IPI) welcomes the release of three journalists in Ivory Coast who were arrested last week on charges of stealing confidential documents after they reported on a corruption scandal in the small West African country.

On Monday, a judge ordered Theophile Kouame, Stephane Guede and Saint Clavier Oula to pay a symbolic fine of one CFA Franc each. Their newspaper, Le Nouveau Courrier, has been ordered to pay a fine of five million CFA francs (approx. €7,600) and faces a ban of 15 days.

Le Nouveau Courrier on Tuesday, 13 July, carried as its front page story an article detailing the contents of a report on an ongoing investigation into graft allegations against officials in the country’s Coffee and Cocoa Bourse.

On the same day, authorities arrested the editor, managing editor and director of publications at the newspaper and accused them of stealing judicial documents. According to local media, the police asked the journalists for the source of the documents, which they refused to divulge.

Over twenty officials from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse were arrested in 2008 after a sweeping investigation into alleged widespread corruption in the government body. They were charged with embezzlement, breach of trust, misappropriation, swindling, and forgery in private companies and banking; most of them remain in prison pending trial.

Although Ivory Coast law does not permit criminal penalties or pre-trial detention for journalists, for publishing offences, the theft of secret documents carries a prison sentence.

The case spurred strong international attention and had come to be seen as a test for Ivory Coast, which prides itself on its robust media.

“We are relieved that the journalists have been released. Journalists have a fundamental right to report on matters that are in the public interest, and in doing so to protect the identities of their sources,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “However, the fine is wholly unacceptable, especially since it could have an adverse impact on the newspaper’s ability to continue operating.  The fact that the newspaper has been both fined and shuttered for 15 days appears to indicate that the Ivorian authorities have jettisoned their previous reputation for upholding a robust media in favor of simply silencing it.”