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54.
As said earlier, the Respondent argues that the Applicant (including
L 'Ouragan Newspaper) has no Press Card and is not registered with the
taxation services or the administrative authorities which are in charge of
legalizing the existence of a Newspaper, which allegation is not challenged by
the Applicant.
55.
The
issue
here
is
whether,
by
not
complying
with
the
above
administrative formalities, the Applicant cannot claim to be a journalist.
56.
In this regard, the Court notes that it is in his capacity as a Journalist that the
Applicant was punished by the Courts of Burkina Faso; that his weekly newspaper
L'Ouragan, has been in existence since January 1992.
57.
In the view of the Court, assuming that Applicant has not complied with some of
the administrative requirements in Burkina Faso, he all the same has the de facto
status of a Journalist, on the basis of which he was convicted by the courts of that
country.
58.
The Court notes that at any rate Articles 9 of the Charter and 19 of the
Covenant guarantee the right of freedom of expression to anyone regardless and not
only to journalists.
59.
The Court therefore concludes that the Respondent's allegation that the
Applicant did not have the status of a journalist is unfounded and the Application
cannot therefore be declared inadmissible on those grounds.
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