Senegal radio to sue police over reporter beating
Mon 23 Jun 2008, 14:55 GMT
DAKAR (Reuters) - A Senegalese radio station plans to sue the police over the alleged beating of its top sports reporter, its manager said on Monday.
Radio RFM, owned by pop star Youssou N'Dour, said sports editor Boubacar Kambel Dieng was beaten on Saturday by at least a dozen police officers while trying to interview Senegalese soccer players after a game against Liberia.
"We have given all the files available to our lawyer to sue the police," RFM manager Mamoudou Ibra Kane told Reuters.
Interior Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy said on Sunday that police authorities would launch an inquiry into the incident.
RFM broadcast an audio recording of what it said was "wild aggression" on Kambel and fellow reporter Karamoko Thioune of West African Democracy Radio while the pair waited to interview players after the match.
The two journalists could be heard crying out while police officers insulted and beat them, with the frequent thwack of what the radio said were electric batons. Senegal's police were issued with electric batons ahead of elections last year.
Kambel was in hospital on Monday being treated for his injuries, while Thioune had been discharged, RFM's Kane said.
Senegalese newspapers and media unions condemned the assault and Dakar-based Pan-African human rights group RADDHO said police in the country should ban the use of electric batons.
No comments:
Post a Comment