(MISA/IFEX) – Angolan authorities arrested two independant radio journalists from Radio Morena in Benguela on 11 January 1999. The two journalists, who were picked up at the station at around 7:00 a.m. (local time) by Angolan Intelligence Information Officers, are station director Jose Manuel Alberto and administrator Jose Cabral Sande. The two were picked up […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Angolan authorities arrested two independant radio journalists
from
Radio Morena in Benguela on 11 January 1999. The two journalists, who were
picked up at the station at around 7:00 a.m. (local time) by Angolan
Intelligence Information Officers, are station director Jose Manuel Alberto
and administrator Jose Cabral Sande. The two were picked up soon after the
studios had re-broadcast a news programme from RTP (Radio Televisao
Portugeuse) featuring the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)
Secretary General Paulo Lukambo Gato, in which he said that the rebels had
taken control of Vila Nova in Huambo Province.
The two were held at a local police station by order of the army general
staff, for disobedience and offences against the head of state. According to
sources, the Angolan authorities in Benguela have still not given any
official comment on the detention of the two journalists.
The two journalists appeared in court on 12 January but were released due to
insufficient evidence. However, MISA Angola reports that the case is still
with the police and this means that the two journalists can be picked up
again at any time.
MISA Angola condemned the action as a violation of press freedom and
requested that the Angolan gorvernment respect the country’s constitution,
which states that every citizen has the right to freedom of expression. It
added that should there be a case for criminal prosecution, the government
should follow the proper legal procedure instead of carrying out a political
agenda, through the military forces.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the President:
endorsed
by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, state
that restrictions on expression on grounds of national security may be
applied only where expression is either intended to incite violence or is
likely to incite such violence
violate Angola’s international legal obligations with regard to the right of
freedom of expression under Article 19 of the International Covenant on
Human and Peoples’ Rights
Appeals To
His Excellency President Eduardo dos Santos
Office of the President
People’s Palace
Luanda, Angola
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
