“Whistleblowers are not criminals.” In Madagascar, Amnesty International, Transparency International and the Research and Support Center for Development Alternatives are challenging the authorities. In a joint statement, these organizations demand in particular an end to the judicial harassment against Jeannot Randriamanana, a teacher who had denounced the diversion of humanitarian aid intended for victims of Cyclone Batsirai at the beginning of the year.
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Laetitia Bezain
This declaration follows the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Fianarantsoa which confirms the conviction of the professor of the city of Mananjary. Two-year suspended prison sentence for “defamation and humiliation of members of parliament and civil servants” and “identity theft. »
A court decision that reinforces the campaign of harassment and judicial harassment targeting whistleblowers and human rights defenders in the Big Island, denounce these organizations, which demand the cancellation of this judgment and the abandonment of all the charges against the teacher.
” In recent years, there have been more and more similar cases. We have the impression that it has become a common practice in Madagascar », points out Volahery Andriamanantenasoa, Director of Programs at CRAAD-OI, the association that signed this joint declaration and of which the teacher is a member. ” He was sentenced as a deterrent. He no longer feels at all free about what to say because there is this threat hanging over his head. “, she continues.
The three organizations call on the Malagasy government to speed up the process of adopting the draft law on the protection of human rights defenders and activists.