(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the18 January 2005 arrest and overnight detention of Mohammed Abdullah Ould Memmine, a special envoy for the Arabic-language Iranian television news station Al-Alam. The Mauritanian journalist was arrested when he tried to enter Uganda from Kenya as part of his coverage of an African tour by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the18 January 2005 arrest and overnight detention of Mohammed Abdullah Ould Memmine, a special envoy for the Arabic-language Iranian television news station Al-Alam. The Mauritanian journalist was arrested when he tried to enter Uganda from Kenya as part of his coverage of an African tour by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami.
After detaining Ould Memmine upon his arrival by car in the border town of Busia on 18 January, Ugandan customs officials took his money and held him overnight in a cell.
“It is not normal that a journalist should be manhandled and treated like a terrorist just because he works for an Arabic-language news organisation. The Ugandan authorities’ attitude betrays a sense of impunity and shows that, despite the recent decriminalisation of press offences, vigilance must be observed,” RSF said.
Reached by telephone, Ould Memmine told RSF that the customs officials refused to allow him into Uganda and stamped an entry ban in his passport. After asking him for money, they searched his car and took some US$3,000 and 400 euros (approx. US$520). Ould Memmine had to spend the night in a small cell with common criminals.
Ould Memmine has worked for Al-Alam since October 2003. He was covering the Iranian president’s tour of seven African countries (Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Benin, Zimbabwe and Uganda).
