Benin detains blogger critical of president

An online critic of Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, was detained on Tuesday and will stand trial later this year, accused of publishing falsehoods and “inciting rebellion,” judicial sources told AFP.

Steve Amoussou, or “Brother Hounvi,” is well known in Benin for criticising the president on social media. He describes himself as a “fearless opponent” but is not officially a member of a political party.

He appeared before Cotonou’s Economic Crime and Terrorism Court (CRIET) accused of “inciting rebellion, initiating and publishing false news and harassment by electronic means,” judicial sources told AFP.

Benin was once seen as a thriving multi-party democracy, but critics say Talon has led the small West African state down an authoritarian path since coming to power in 2016.

Amoussou, whose Facebook page has 75,000 followers, had been living in neighbouring Togo for several years.

His lawyer Aboubakar Baparape said the blogger was seized in the suburbs of Togo’s capital Lome on August 12 and taken into police custody in Benin.

He will now be held in prison before his October 7 trial, the judicial sources said.

The Benin Bar Association of lawyers called it a “flagrant violation of our country’s legal standards” and called for transparency.

On Monday, lawmakers and opposition figures gathered at the CRIET court in a show of support before being dispersed by the police. Critics say the court has been used by Talon to crack down on opposition.

“Amoussou is not a delinquent or a cyber-criminal — his only crime is his determination to highlight the excesses of the regime,” Guy Mitopke of the main Democrats opposition party told reporters on Sunday.