Journalist in Danger acknowledges the re-opening of Radio Télévision ya Lisano, after a 37-day suspension. JED is however still calling on authorities to release Simplexe Musangu, General Director of the station.
Journalist in Danger (JED) acknowledges the re-opening of Radio Télévision ya Lisano. The station is based in Kolwezi, a town over 300 Km away from Lubumbashi, the administrative centre of the Katanga province, in Southeast DRC. The station had been shut down for 37 days.
According to information obtained by JED, on 20 August 2013, the Attorney General of Lubumbashi’s Court of Appeals ordered an end to the suspension of Radio Télévision ya Lisano. The decision comes seven days after the end of the one-month suspension imposed on the station by the provincial branch of the Superior Council of Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC / Katanga).
The High Court prosecutor of Kolwezi ordered the closure of Radio Télévision ya Lisano on 13 July 2013. The same day, the CSAC / Katanga also suspended any activities carried out by the station. This double sanction followed a message that had been broadcast on the station by a group of armed militia, the Bakata Katanga (“Cut the Katanga”), proclaiming the independence of the province of Katanga.
While acknowledging the end to the station’s suspension, JED calls for the release of Simplexe Musangu, journalist and General Director of Radio Télévision ya Lisano. Musangu was arrested for the same reason the station was shut down, on 13 July 2013. On 15 July, he was transferred to Dilala’s central prison in Kolwezi. On 9 August 2013, he was taken to the National Intelligence Agency, where he continues to be detained.
