Journalist and President of the Niger bloggers association Samira Sabou was charged with defamation by means of electronic communication on 10 June 2020 and immediately transferred to the prison of Niamey. Sani Mahamadou Issoufou, son of The President of Niger and deputy chief of staff of the Presidency filed a complaint against her after a Facebook user mentioned his name in a comment responding to Samira’s publication relating to allegation of corruption. Samira Sabou did not mention his name. The case is politically motivated and is part of the crackdown on human rights defenders, activists and journalists who speak about allegations of high level of corruption after the Ministry of Defence’s audit report leaked.
