West Africa: RSF strengthens its network of lawyers in Sahel countries to defend the right to information
At a meeting in the Ivorian capital Abidjan at the end of October, the network of press freedom lawyers created by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in February welcomed new members from Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea. RSF continues to develop this network to defend the right to information in a region marked by the exile, assassination and enforced disappearance of journalists, particularly in Sahel countries.
“The investigative journalism that we practice is very demanding and exposes us, on a daily basis, to all sorts of risks, such as lawsuits," explained Noël Konan, an Ivorian investigative journalist and editor of the news website l’Etau.net, at a meeting RSF held in Abidjan at the end of October. He was speaking to West African lawyers as part of a two-day event to expand the network of lawyers RSF set up last February in Lomé, the capital of Togo. The network has now been extended to include lawyers from Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
In these West African countries — where press freedom is increasingly under attack from leaders who are supposed to defend it — journalists are always caught between the hammer of political leaders and the anvil of Sahelian military authorities who resist basic freedoms. Noël Konan's experience paints a vivid picture of the challenges facing reporters: each of his investigations is read by a lawyer before publication yet; despite this precaution, he could still be criminally prosecuted and arbitrarily detained, as was the case in July 2022. “This would not have been possible if I had been assisted by a lawyer from the outset when I was questioned by the judicial police officers," he says. A fellow journalist in the Sahel region explains that reporting and dissenting has become a risk for journalists in his country.
More and more journalists are leaving Sahel countries after publishing articles or investigations that are deemed critical of authorities. Other media professionals in West Africa, continue to be arbitrarily arrested or see their media financially stifled. RSF seeks to draw on this dynamic network of lawyers in all the countries of the region to defend journalists and the right to information by challenging arbitrary judicial decisions and bringing cases before regional institutions. This is our goal in expanding this network, whose members have the potential to help protect journalism in the Sahel.
The network’s expansion comes at a difficult time for the right to information in the Sahel where, since 2020, five journalists have been killed while working between Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad. Five other journalists are currently missing. What’s more, several international and local media outlets have been suspended in the area, and many journalists have left their countries for fear of reprisals after publishing investigations or publicly criticising military authorities.
In the face of this crisis, “it is important to build lawyers’ capacity to deal with cases of arbitrary arrest, and to support the development of a free, reliable and independent press in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Saïd Ould Salem, a Nigerien lawyer and member of the network who defended Samira Sabou, a journalist known for her articles on the country's governance.
Other lawyers from Sahel countries, investigative journalists and press freedom advocates have joined the initiative by meeting in Abidjan. Some of them took part in the launch of the network last February in Lomé. These lawyers have expressed their belief that progress has been made since these meetings, and that the partnership between journalists and lawyers defending press freedom. “The commitment of the lawyers working alongside RSF has made it possible to establish effective strategies for better handling cases of arrested and prosecuted journalists," said Elom K. Kpadé, a Togolese lawyer who defended Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou, investigative journalists from the online media L'Alternative.
