Niger editor jailed over baby ritual killing story

NIAMEY, Sep 16 (Reuters) The editor of a local newspaper in Niger has been sent to prison for six months and fined almost 200 dollar for trying to stir unrest with a story about a man slitting a baby's throat and sprinkling its blood in a Muslim cemetery.

Salifou Dago, editor-in-chief of the weekly ''L'Enqueteur'', was accused of making the story up to sow public disorder in the overwhelmingly Muslim West African country. There has been no independent corroboration of the paper's report.

The weekly's main focus is sensational human interest stories, although it has in the past published occasional pieces critical of the authorities in Niger, who have grown increasingly stern in their dealings with the media.

In recent months, two reporters on a different weekly paper have been sentenced to 18 months in jail for defaming the prime minister, another paper has been banned and a private radio station has been barred from broadcasting.

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