Cote d'Ivoire / No improvement / Three journalists from daily Notre Voie taken into custody

PARIS, France, November 25, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Reporters Without Borders is shocked to learn that three journalists from the daily Notre Voie, which is close former President Laurent Gbagbo, were taken into police custody yesterday on suspicion of insulting the head of state and harming the national economy.

The organization condemns this latest attack on press freedom and calls for the immediate release of these reporters in accordance with Ivorian laws.

The publisher, César Etou, and the chief political correspondent, Boga Sivori, were taken in for questioning about an article that appeared in the newspaper three days earlier about 40 new Mercedes official cars made available to members of the government.

The assistant editor, Didier Dépry, was questioned about a story that appeared on the newspaper's front page yesterday saying the CFA franc was about to be devalued.