Police jailed Charles Fils
Elangue, head of the culture desk at private broadcaster ABK TV, in New Bell
prison immediately after a court tribunal handed him a 12-month suspended
prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 CFA francs (US$1,010), according to
Elangue and local news reports. Elangue was also ordered to pay 2 million CFA
francs (US$4,000) in damages to Lisa Anye, the plaintiff and wife of local
musician Francis Victor Njoh, better known as Njohreur, according to the same
sources.
Elangue told CPJ he was
released on June 11 after he paid the fine, and his lawyer, Henry Ngomsu, said
he had appealed the conviction.
The conviction stemmed from
a complaint filed by Anye against Elangue in connection with an article he had
published in May 2011 while he was a reporter for the now-defunct news website
Kaï Walaï, local journalists said. The article had reported Anye's arrest in
connection with a legal dispute involving the sale of a car, Elangue told CPJ.
Anye denied that she had been arrested, according to news reports. The
journalist told CPJ he had evidence, including a video of the arrest, to
support his story.
"People who feel they
have been defamed obviously have the right to seek redress through civil
courts, but defamation should not be a criminal matter," said CPJ Africa
Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "We call on the appeals court to
reverse the conviction of Charles Fils Elangue and urge Cameroonian authorities
to decriminalize defamation."
Another Cameroonian
journalist, Jean-Marie Tchatchouang, editor of the weekly Paroles, was released
from prison on May 24 after completing a two-month term handed to him in March.
The journalist was convicted of criminal defamation in connection with his
coverage of allegations and mismanagement of funds at a local bus company.
By the Committee to Protect Journalists
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