Two media regulators appeared in court in Guinea Wednesday after claiming that the heads of popular outlets had been bribed by the ruling military.
The hearing followed months of a junta-led crackdown on media freedom across Guinea which saw four private radio stations and two private television channels banned in May.
In comments to reporters on June 12, Djene Diaby and Tawel Camara — two of the 13 commissioners of media regulator HAC — accused the owners of the now-banned media organisations of receiving money from the junta in return for favourable coverage.
However, those media organisations continued to criticise the junta which led to them being banned last month, the commissioners claimed.
Diaby and Camara were charged with defamation against the head of state and detained in Conakry’s central prison, their colleague Amadou Toure told AFP.
The two commissioners appeared in court in Conakry Wednesday where they apologised and said they had no proof of their claims.
Their trial was adjourned until Thursday.
In her earlier contested comments, recorded and published on social media, Diaby said she had “no compassion” for the media bosses.
“Each one of them got money… at the presidency. Each one of them signed,” Diaby said.
Both commissioners also described members of the junta as indifferent to legality and capable of anything to retain power.
The HAC suspended Diaby and Camara for “gross misconduct” on June 13.
The directors of the Hadafo Medias, Djoma Media and Frequence Medias groups said they were lodging a complaint against the two officials.
Their media outlets are among the six radio and TV stations whose licences were withdrawn by the authorities on May 22.
Opposition voices have been largely stifled since the colonels seized power in a 2021 coup, overthrowing elected president Alpha Conde.