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Niger

Dozens held in Niger for 'subversive activities'

Niger's military junta has arrested a dozen close aides of former president Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted in February. A police source told AFP they were suspected of subversive activities.

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The arrests, which include former ministers, took place on Sunday, but the nature of the alleged activities was not specified.

Those arrested include former finance minister Ali Lamine Zene and former justice minister Garba Lompo, as well as directors of corporate firms.

They are being held at a police camp in the capital Niamey, the police source said.

The arrests mark the first major round-up of Tandja loyalists since the 18 February coup that toppled him.

The junta has vowed to restore democracy in the uranium-rich country at the end of a transition period, which has not been fixed.

State radio reported that the junta plans to scrap prison sentences for offending journalists, making them only liable to fines.

La Voix du Sahel said the authorities would stage a three-day mass debate on the press from Monday, grouping legal experts, human rights defenders and representatives of the media and the government.

Journalists and newspaper chiefs in Niger have been subject for years to arrest and imprisonment at the behest of people in authority in attempts to keep the press under control.
 

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