The National Press Authority (ANP), the media regulatory body in Côte d'Ivoire, suspended an Ivorian opposition daily on Thursday.
The newspaper is accused of having "
undermined
" the "
judicial body
".
In a press release published on Wednesday April 5, the ANP announced the suspension of six issues of the daily
Le Temps
, close to former president Laurent Gbagbo, and banned its editor, Yacouba Gbane, from writing for three months.
The ANP criticizes the newspaper in particular for having published the photo of an examining magistrate, which "
infringes her image rights and undermines her activity, the secrecy of the investigation
" and "
her physical integrity
”.
The magistrate had twice summoned Damana Pickass, secretary general of the African People's Party - Côte d'Ivoire (PPA-CI) created by Laurent Gbagbo.
He was heard for his alleged role in the attack on a barracks in Abidjan in 2021.
“Secular arms of the regime”
The ANP points to a second article also written by Yacouba Gbane, concerning the same affair, in which the journalist accuses "
the judges
" of having "
become secular arms of the regime
" of President Alassane Ouattara.
The article refers to the two-year prison sentence for "
disturbing public order
", on March 9, of 26 PPA-CI activists who came to support Damana Pickass during his first summons: they were finally sentenced to two years in prison, suspended on appeal.
“
These articles undermine the honor and consideration of the judiciary
,” writes the ANP.
“
It is unacceptable, we do not agree.
It's injustice
, ”reacted Yacouba Gbane, interviewed by AFP.
"
Those who are today at the head of the ANP are gravediggers, destroyers of freedom of the press
", he continued, claiming to "
assume
" his writings.
The ANP had already suspended 26 publications of the newspaper Le Temps in February and banned Yacouba Gbane from publication for a month, for "
announcing the publication of an article critical of the Ouattara regime
", according to him.