I. Coast jails policeman for killing reporter
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- A court in Ivory Coast sentenced a policeman on Thursday to 17 years in jail for the murder of a French journalist, ending a politically sensitive trial that exposed anti-French and anti-media bias in the former colony.
Jean Helene, a correspondent for Paris-based Radio France Internationale (RFI), was shot dead on October 21 outside a police station in Abidjan's business district.
After a three-day trial, Sergeant Theodore Dago Sery, who was on duty outside the police station the night of the shooting, was found guilty of intentionally killing Helene.
The accused, 28, shouted three times "I am innocent" as the verdict was read out.
His lawyers said they would appeal, arguing the trial had been rushed and tainted by procedural irregularities. They also accused Helene's employers, RFI, of compromising the outcome.
"My client is innocent. I am not surprised by the decision," said defence lawyer Charles Kignima. "At all stages of the procedure, RFI made provocative statements. It compromised the trial," he added.
He said he would lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court on Friday. Supporters of the accused, some wearing T-shirts reading "Free Dago Sery," were at the courthouse to hear the verdict.
Helene's murder highlighted the anti-French sentiment which swept the former French colony after it plunged into civil war in September 2002 and also shone a spotlight on a simultaneous rise in hostility to foreign media.
Foreign media and French radio and television channels in particular were accused of pro-rebel bias during the war, which blew out of failed coup attempt and claimed thousands of lives in the world's biggest cocoa producer before being declared over in July.
Anti-French sentiment peaked in January 2003 after France helped broker a peace deal, with pro-government youths attacking French businesses and homes in Abidjan.
RFI, which is one of the most listened-to radio stations in Ivory Coast, was particularly targeted by radical pro-government supporters. RFI and its correspondents were regularly singled out in pro-government newspapers for criticism.
The court ordered the state of Ivory Coast to pay 137 million CFA ($266,000) to Helene's family. Sery himself will have to pay 500,000 CFA ($969).
Helene's sister and brother, who had attended the trial, were not in court on Thursday, having been advised by French officials to stay away because of security concerns.
The journalist's murder also revealed a growing climate of impunity among security forces in a nation brutalised by war.
The state military prosecutor had called for a 15-year jail term for Sery -- five years less than the maximum for murder.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
