WAN Condemns Sentencing of Rwandan Journalists

WAN-IFRA Condemns Sentencing of Three Rwandan Journalists

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has condemned the sentencing in Rwanda of three journalists on charges of invasion of privacy.

The three journalists from the Umuseso weekly were sentenced for invading the privacy of a government minister and the Mayor of Kigali in connection with a story alleging an extramarital affair between the two officials.

The newspaper¹s publisher, Charles Kabonero, was sentenced to one year in prison, while editor Didas Gasana and senior reporter, Richard Kayigamba, were sentenced to six months respectively. The three were also ordered to pay damages of 1 million Rwandan francs (1,300 Euros), but remain free pending appeal.

Rwanda¹s 2008 Law on the Leadership Code of Conduct criminalises offenses such as adultery for public office holders. In its defence, the newspaper had claimed that reporting the story was a matter of public interest.

In a statement, WAN-IFRA said that imprisoning journalists for carrying out their professional activities constitutes a clear breach of the right to freedom of expression.
WAN-IFRA urged the court of appeal to overturn the decision.

WAN-IFRA has launched a campaign to abolish insult and criminal defamation laws across Africa. More information on its "Declaration of Table Mountain"
can be found at http://www.declarationoftablemountain.org/

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation for the world¹s newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organisation groups 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

The organisation was created through the merger of the World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at http://www.wan-ifra.org/ or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine at http://www.wan-ifra.org/magazine.

ENDS

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