On Monday, January 20, Niger's Ministry of Communication lifted the suspension of CANAL3 TV and its editor-in-chief was released from police custody. On Friday
, the Niger Ministry of Communication had announced a one-month suspension of CANAL 3 TV, one of the country's largest private television channels.
The editor-in-chief of this channel, Seyni Amadou, was arrested and taken into
custody the following day and detained for three months.
According to state television channel Télé Sahel, the sanctions were imposed on Canal 3 TV "for violating ethical and professional conduct rules."
According to Reporters Without Borders, "The private channel Canal 3 broadcast the 'Barometer of Government Members in 2024,' an annual column that has been running for about ten years, in which its editor-in-chief, Seyni Amadou, assesses the performance of each minister in an offbeat
tone."
According to Sadibou Marong, director of RSF's Sub-Saharan Africa desk, "the authorities should never have imposed such sanctions in the first place. RSF calls on them to promote press freedom and the right to information."
The Network of Independent Radio and Television Stations of Niger (R/RTIN) and the Nigerien Association of Independent Press Publishers (ANEPI) also deemed these sanctions "unfounded" and defended "the right of the media to criticize public action" in a statement seen by AFP
on Monday.
The military regime in Niger, which has been in power since a coup on July 26, 2023, has already suspended the broadcasting of several international media outlets, such as RFI, France 24, and the BBC.
(source: AFP dispatch)