Togo suspends third opposition-friendly media

Togo's media regulatory body has suspended pro-opposition weekly Fraternite after it ran an article criticising the suspension of two other newspapers, it emerged Tuesday.

The High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) suspended the journal late Monday for two months from April 1.

It cited a March 25 article containing what it termed "discourteous, insulting and defamatory words" in criticising the earlier bans on the L'Alternative and Liberte papers.

Fraternite reported that "the HAAC, having called in a surrealist manner and in vain on the two organs to show proof of claims in their publications, chose directly to punish them."
The HAAC maintains that the offending article "did not respect professional rules, in violation of journalists' professional ethics and Togo's press and communications code."