The Government press regulation body, the
High Council for Communication (CSC) closed Niamey based TV and radio stations of Dounia TV for one month in August 2008, and closed for an indefinite period
Sahara FM, the main radio station in
Agadez on 22 April 2008 for broadcasting interviews with people who had claimed they were the victims of abuses by government troops. Following an on-air round-table discussion of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Niger, Dounia TV's director Habibou Garba, Editor-in-Chief Seyni Amadou, and civil society activist, Elhadj Idi Abdou were arrested by the government of Niger, charged with "broadcasting false information". The 31 March 2009 arrests came after a 30 March broadcast of "
Circle of Colleagues" ("
le Cercle des confrères"), a round table discussion show. During the show, Abdou stated that Sarkozy's visit was "a technical stopover" to facilitate "the looting of Niger's resources". The charges carry a punishment of one to two years imprisonment and fines of from FCFA 100,000 to FCFA 1,000,000. Dounia Media also faced a separate court case: a defamation lawsuit by
MNSD-Nassara members of the
National Assembly of Niger, following comments in one of its programmes by an opposition member. Earlier in 2009, the CSC warned that Dounia TV could be closed for showing film of Nigerien Police forcefully dispersing supporters of jailed former
Prime Minister of Niger Hama Amadou during a Niamey protest. Dounia TV has been described as "giving considerable air-time" to supporters of Hama Amadou's faction in the ruling MNSD-Nassara.
Reporters Without Borders claimed in a statement following the March 31 arrests that "The Dounia group is the victim of repeated harassment by the judicial authorities". ==Suppression==