(MISA/IFEX) – On 16 February 2000, Zanzibar police detained photojournalist Athuman Hamisi of “The Guardian” for allegedly taking photos of the national leaders of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party at the party’s subhead office in Zanzibar. The police confiscated Hamisi’s camera and detained him for interrogation for three hours, after which the assistant […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 16 February 2000, Zanzibar police detained photojournalist Athuman Hamisi of “The Guardian” for allegedly taking photos of the national leaders of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party at the party’s subhead office in Zanzibar. The police confiscated Hamisi’s camera and detained him for interrogation for three hours, after which the assistant commissioner of the police, Juma Mtumwa, intervened and released him.
Hamisi said he wanted to photograph Zanzibar President Salmin Amour and Tanzania Vice-President Omar Ali Juma shaking hands before getting into official vehicles for a lunch break. The Zanzibar Police claimed that the CCM area was one of the “sensitive places” in which people were prohibited from taking photographs.
