Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2013

Republic of Congo: 1

Raymond Malonga, Sel-Piment
Imprisoned: November 22, 2013

Police in the capital, Brazzaville, arrested Malonga, editor of the private weekly Sel-Piment, saying he had defied a nine-month suspension imposed on his newspaper, according to local journalists and news reports.

On November 13, the state-run media regulatory board High Council on Freedom of Communication (CSLC) suspended Sel-Piment for re-publishing in its November 6, 2013, edition an Internet article on a purported victim of alleged police brutality, according to local journalists and news reports. At a press conference, Deputy Director General of Police Albert Ngoto singled out the article as "defamatory," according to news reports. The CSLC accused the paper of "insulting the national police corps, defamation, manipulation of opinion, publication of misinformation and accusations without proof," according to news reports.

Malonga had published the next edition of the paper despite the suspension, local journalists said.

Malonga was held at Brazzaville's central police station until December 2, 2013, when he was taken to court and a magistrate ordered his release, according to local journalists. It was not immediately clear whether formal charges had been filed against him.

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