Niger journalists convicted of offenses against army

NIAMEY, Niger (Reuters) -- A court on Tuesday fined two managers of a satirical newspaper and gave them suspended prison sentences for trying to foment disobedience within Niger's armed forces, legal sources said.

Abdoulaye Tiemogo and Amadou Daouda Traore, respectively publishing director and editorial coordinator of Le Canard Libere, were each given suspended terms of six months and fined 500,000 CFA francs ($668) by the magistrates court in Niamey.

The Defense Ministry had brought the case against the men because of their newspaper's frequent articles about the events of April 9, 1999, when President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara was assassinated by elements of his personal guard.

The ministry also objected to articles about alleged discrimination within the armed forces.

The Canard Libere has backed calls for a full inquiry into the assassination and has objected to a general amnesty, saying that those responsible for Mainassara's death should be punished.

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