-4-
5.
On 29 October 2012, the Ouagadougou High Court sentenced the Applicant to
a twelve (12) month term of imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.5 Million
CFA Francs (an equivalent of 3000USD), the same court ordered the Applicant to pay
the Complainant damages of 4.5 Million CFA Francs (an equivalent of 9000USD) as
damages and interest, and court costs of 250,000 CFA Francs (an equivalent of
500USD).
6. Further, as additional penalties, the Court ordered that L'Ouragan Weekly be
suspended for a period of six (6} months and for the operative provisions of the
judgment
to
be
published
in
three
successive
issues
of L'Evenement,
L'Observateur Paalga, Le Pays and L'Ouragan Newspapers and, in the case of the
latter, in its first issue upon its resumption of activity and for a period of four
months, at the cost of the Applicant and Mr. Roland Ouedraogo.
7.
On 10 May 2013, the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment of
the Ouagadougou High Court.
8.
The Applicant alleges that L'Ouragan is a private Weekly with "an
independent editorial policy focussing mainly on political and social issues"; that the
paper "has been the object of various legal proceedings in Burkina Faso due to its
style in news reporting".
B) Alleged violations
9.
The Applicant submits in his Application that "the jail term, huge fine, damages
as well as the court costs violate his right to freedom of expression which is protected
under various treaties to which Burkina Faso is a Party"; he also alleges notably the
violation of his rights under Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights (hereinafter referred to as "the Charter''), and Article 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter, referred to as "the Covenant").