READ TO YOU: Boukary Daou, Malian journalist: "I am a free man again"

Arrested for publishing a letter from a group of soldiers denouncing the benefits granted to Captain Sanogo, the editor of the private newspaper "The Republican" Boukary Daou, was tried and released on 30 April. After 28 days of illegal detention. It now file a complaint against those who are arrested. Interview.

Jeune Afrique: How do you explain the sudden cancellation of the proceedings against you?
Boukary Daou: The judge ruled that the exceptions thrown by the defense were admissible, namely the lack of citation. The press law stipulates that the journalist, when sued, to receive a quote from the prosecutor stating the faults which he is charged. That was not my case. This quote missing in my case, I never knew what I was formally charged, and so I have never been able to prepare my defense. Lawyers have played this card and to quash the proceedings against me.
 Do you complain?
I was vilified, humiliated and dirty in my honor. It is true that the court has cleared me, but I have been harmed. There was an arrest, imprisonment, and arbitrary imprisonment because I have not been heard by the prosecutor before being brought to the central prison. For all these violations, my lawyers and I are studying the issue to see if we file the complaint against the Malian state, against the Director of State Security (SE), or against the structure of the SE. And when it comes to knowing where is he must file the complaint before the courts in Mali or before an international court. This case goes beyond the particular case of me and became one of the entire Malian press.
The simple act of depriving a man of his liberty is a moral torture.
How was your night in detention in the SE?
The simple act of depriving a man of his liberty is a moral torture. For the purposes of the constitution of the complaint file, I can not go into details, but there have been worse.
Can you tell us more about the publication of the letter that led to your arrest?
This letter was addressed to me, I published because I felt it contained information of interest to my readers. Then my categorical refusal to supply my source led to my detention.
What motivates you after your release?
I am a free man again will resume his pen. I knew those in the SE, also saw me. I have no fear, I'm in my country and I will exercise my profession freely as I have always done. However, we must be vigilant, because in that case it has attacked a constitutional principle.
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Interview by Baba Ahmed in Bamako (Ja)