Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Ivorian authorities and political parties to “protect journalists” three months ahead of the first round of the presidential election, according to a statement.
RSF denounced the intimidation of at least two Ivorian journalists since early May and called on authorities as well as political actors to ensure the safety of journalists, both in the field and on social media.
According to RSF, M’ma Camara, a journalist with France 24, was the target of a “smear campaign” in June, after covering a rally held by the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), the main opposition party.
The journalist was subjected to online harassment on social media and accused of downplaying the number of participants at the PDCI rally.
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“Some individuals posted my address and that of my family,” she said, as quoted in the statement published by RSF on Tuesday.
The NGO also recommended that political parties “facilitate journalists’ access to their events” and “sanction supporters or members responsible for threats or hostile acts towards the press”.
It called on Ivorian authorities to “take concrete measures to protect press freedom in the country”, denouncing “calls targeting journalists after the publication of articles”, as well as “exchanges that sometimes turn into intimidation”, including from government officials.
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Regional concern
“We do not feel concerned,” said Ivorian Minister of Communication Amadou Coulibaly, dismissing the concerns. “The president protects journalists, who are free to carry out their work,” he told French news agency AFP, adding that: "No journalist has been troubled in the exercise of their duties since Alassane Ouattara came to power."
Sadibou Marong, head of RSF’s sub-Saharan Africa bureau, cited “the arrest of a journalist who had been granted political asylum”.
He refers to Hugues Colman Sossoukpé, a Beninese journalist critical of his government, who lived in Togo and was arrested in Abidjan mid-July, then extradited to Cotonou after having been invited to Côte d’Ivoire by the Ministry of Digital Transition.
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"We can legitimately speak of a trap and of a professional journalistic mission that ultimately turned into a snare," he told RFI on Wednesday morning.
Coulibaly insisted that “no illegal action” had been taken by the authorities.
“We simply carried out an arrest warrant as part of judicial cooperation with Benin,” he said, noting that the minister of digital transition had been unaware of the warrant against Sossoukpé at the time of issuing the invitation.
“Protecting the press means ensuring the full functioning of an effective democracy,” said Marong.
Benin but also Senegal are concerned by such repression of journalists, Marong told RFI.
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"In Senegal, although the country jumped 20 places in the latest World Press Freedom Index, we have begun to observe many new developments in recent months," he said. "There is the issue of the detention of media commentators and columnists."
Côte d’Ivoire has experienced repeated violence around electoral periods.
At the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011, the election of current president Alassane Ouattara, disputed by his rival Laurent Gbagbo, led to around 3,000 deaths.
The presidential election is set for 25 October, 2025, in which Outtara is running for a fourth mandate.
(with AFP)
