His Excellency Paul Biya
President
Palais de L’Unité
Yaounde
Cameroon

Vienna, 28 July 2000

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, is deeply concerned at the recent decision of the Yaounde High Court to impose prison sentences on two journalists and a publisher for “alleged” violations of the Cameroon defamation laws.

On 18 July, the Yaounde High Court convicted the publisher of the biweekly newspaper, Dikalo, Celestin Biake Difana, and two of the newspaper’s journalists, Daniel Atangana and Thierry Mbouza, of criminal defamation. The two reporters, who have been in hiding for the last two months, were sentenced in absentia to six months in prison. Difana, who appeared in court, received a suspended six-month sentence.

The criminal defamation charges were brought against the three media professionals by Pierre Simé, head of the National Union of Professional Truckers, who alleged that he had been defamed by an article published in Dikalo. Appearing in a November 1998 issue, the article contained a signed petition by 81 union members which attacked the embezzlement and corruption of union officials. The petition described the union as a “phantom structure led by Pierre Simé that helps expatriate truckers plunder Cameroon”.

After hearing the evidence, the Yaounde High Court held that the two journalists and publisher were guilty of criminal defamation for spreading “baseless accusations” that allegedly damaged Simé’s reputation. No charges were laid down against the 81 signatories to the petition.

Prior to this trial, on 5 April, Michel Eclador Pekoua, publisher of Ouest Echos, was sentenced to six months in prison. Pekoua was found guilty of defaming the mistress of Adolphe Moduki, Executive Director of Société Nationales des Hydrocarbures in an August 1999 article. The article quoted from a leaked report that Moduki had embezzled large amounts of company funds and that much of it was spent on gifts for his mistress.

IPI strongly believes that the use of criminal defamation laws against a journalist is in violation of an individual’s democratic rights. The use of criminal sanctions for alleged mistakes serves only to intimidate the press and prevent them from pursuing their legitimate aim of reporting in the public interest. In addition, heads of government institutions and other organisations must learn to accept the scrutiny and enquiries of the press without using unjust laws to penalise them. IPI would also remind Your Excellency that Cameroon is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees the “right to freedom of expression” including the “freedom to seek, receive and impart information”.

Furthermore, IPI wishes to point out that within any society there are other procedures capable of ensuring that damage to a person’s reputation is rectified. Apart from the civil defamation laws, which carry no threat of imprisonment, many newspapers have their own policies relating to corrections and apologies when errors have been made.

In view of the above, IPI urges Your Excellency to take all measures necessary to ensure that the charges against Difana, Atangana and Mbouza are dismissed and to give firm assurances that the criminal laws of defamation will be repealed to ensure that no other journalists are imprisoned for carrying out their profession. We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director