Benin: Journalist sentenced for “harassment”: Ignace Sossou

On 24 December 2019, investigative journalist Ignace Sossou was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined for “harassment” by a court in Benin for posting tweets quoting Benin’s Public Prosecutor during a conference hosted by the French media development agency CFI. The Public Prosecutor alleged that his remarks had been taken out of context and issued a complaint against Ignace Sossou at the Court of First Instance, leading to his arrest, prosecution and sentencing. He is being arbitrarily detained and must be immediately and unconditionally released.

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