Niger Jails Journalist For Story On Chinese Deal

A reporter for Radio France International (RFI) was released in October last year after spending more than a year in jail.

A court in Niger sentenced a journalist to three months' jail for publishing false information about a business deal between a Chinese company and the West African nation, lawyers said on Friday.

Soussada Ben Ali, editor of L'Action, an independent weekly newspaper, was arrested after a Jan. 13 article that accused the Finance Ministry of irregularities in awarding a contract worth over 800 million CFA franc ($1.56 million) to a Chinese firm.

The ministry denied the allegations over its deal with SMI, a Chinese state-owned company that supplies medical goods, and the prosecution had asked the judge to jail Ben Ali for six months.

"This is a regrettable decision and we are going to appeal against it," said Mani Yahouza, the journalist's lawyer. "In this case, there was no disturbance of public order, and so it is not fair to talk about spreading false information."

Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, has close ties with China. The state-owned China National Petroleum Company has signed a $5 billion deal to produce crude oil in Niger and build a refinery and a 2,000 km (1,250-mile) export pipeline.

Human rights groups in Niger have criticised that deal, saying it is unclear how the money, including a 127 billion CFA franc ($248 million) signature bonus, will be spent.

Niger's government is highly sensitive to criticism in the press and the country plummeted last year to 130th place, from 87th, in a press freedom ranking published by media-watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

A reporter for Radio France International (RFI) was released in October last year after spending more than a year in jail.

He was accused of collaborating with Tuareg-led rebels who are fighting for greater autonomy in northern Niger. RFI said their local reporter was merely doing his job.