(JED/IFEX) – The following is a 9 December 2002 JED press release: Kinshasa, 9 December 2002 JED presents its 2002 annual report: 33 journalists arrested in the DRC On Monday 9 December 2002, on the occasion of the 54th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Journaliste en Danger (JED), a non-governmental organisation dedicated […]
(JED/IFEX) – The following is a 9 December 2002 JED press release:
Kinshasa, 9 December 2002
JED presents its 2002 annual report: 33 journalists arrested in the DRC
On Monday 9 December 2002, on the occasion of the 54th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Journaliste en Danger (JED), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the defence and promotion of press freedom, presented its fifth annual report on “the press freedom situation in the DRC”. The presentation took place at the organisation’s headquarters, during a press conference attended by media professionals, professional organisations and members of Kinshasa’s diplomatic community.
The report notes that 33 journalists were arrested and detained in 2002. One journalist, Raymond Kabala, is currently imprisoned at Kinshasa’s Penitentiary and Re-education Centre (Centre pénitentiaire et de rééducation de Kinshasa, CPRK). A court recently reduced Kabala’s sentence from 12 to seven months’ imprisonment and the payment of one million Congolese francs (approx. US$2,500) in damages and interest. Kabala is publication director of “L’Alerte Plus” newspaper.
The report also notes that of the 33 journalists arrested in 2002, nine were detained in rebel-held territories and 24 in regions of the country under the Kinshasa government’s control.
In comparison to 2001, one less journalist was arrested in 2002 in government-held regions, when 25 journalists were arrested, but overall, 49 journalists have been arrested since President Joseph Kabila’s accession to power in January 2001.
Other press freedom violations throughout the year included cases of journalists being assaulted, threatened or otherwise mistreated; administrative, economic or judicial pressure; and obstruction of the free flow of information. A total of 67 cases of attacks on press freedom were registered in 2002, compared to 49 in 2001.
In the course of JED’s presentation of its 2002 annual report on the press freedom situation in the DRC, several journalists described the events surrounding their own arrest and detention.
Among its recommendations, JED calls for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Raymond Kabala, who is nearing his fifth month in detention, an end to the war that is raging in the eastern half of the DRC, the continuation of the current peace talks in Pretoria, South Africa, and the establishment of self-regulation mechanisms by media organisations and journalists themselves.
