Madagascar: Yet another anti-trafficking activist convicted
▻https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/madagascar-yet-another-anti-trafficking-activist-convicted
“There is a striking resemblance between Christopher’s case and that of other environmental activists in Madagascar, who have also faced accusations of ‘rebellion’ as an excuse to silence them,” Makmid Kamara, Amnesty International’s deputy director of global issues, said in a statement.
Magnenjika’s case bears similarities to that of Clovis Razafimalala, the Lampogno coalition’s president, who was imprisoned for 10 months before being tried, convicted, fined and released on parole in 2017. Several other activists throughout the country have also been convicted and immediately released on parole, presumably as a way to keep them quiet. Members of the Lampogno coalition, which is based in Maroantsetra, a hotbed of rosewood trafficking, have faced particular difficulty, both with death threats from traffickers and legal pressure from government officials, some of whom benefit from the illegal trade. Armand Marozafy, who volunteers with the coalition alongside Razafimalala and Magnenjika, was convicted of defamation in 2015 and spent five months in jail.
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