Mali's President Dioncounda Traore, center, listens to questions from journalists as Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, left, looks on, at a news conference prior to Traore's departure, at the airport in Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. Mali's president Tuesday concluded a two-day visit to neighboring Senegal, one of the West African nations to have contributed troops to the French-led fight against Islamic extremists in Mali's north. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
US raises concerns over Mali's arrest of editor
Published: 04:12:50 PM, Thu 14 March 2013 UTC
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The United States ambassador to Mali says she has concerns about press freedom in the West African nation after authorities arrested a newspaper editor.
Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard told journalists on a telephone conference call Thursday that she and the U.S. had "great concern" about the arrest of Boukary Daou, the editor-in-chief of The Republican newspaper. Leonard said: "There's a vital role for media and we urge the utmost protection of free expression and rights under the law."
Daou was detained by agents from Mali's intelligence service on March 6. His arrest came soon after his newspaper published a letter from an army officer denouncing coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo's recently-decreed salary of $8,000 per month, a very high salary in the impoverished country.
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