Mozambique: Two Journalists beaten

Three weeks after the beating of two journalists in Mozambique, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Sindicato Nacional de Jornalistsas (SNJ) have repeated calls for the attackers to be brought to justice without further delay.

Credit: Ferhat Momade

Three weeks after the beating of two journalists in Mozambique, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Sindicato Nacional de Jornalistsas (SNJ) have repeated calls for the attackers to be brought to justice without further delay. Two journalists from the Mozambican Independently Weekly Magazine, reporter Abanes Ndanda and photographer Antonio Nhangumbe, were attacked, threatened and beaten on Wednesday 5 July by the security agents of the Government of Maputo Province. Abanes and Antonio were approached by the security agents after taking pictures of the façade of the Maputo Provincial Government building. According to a statement issued by the SNJ the memory card of the camera was removed and items on it deleted by the security agents.  During the interrogation process, the journalists were asked to surrender their mobile phones. Upon refusal to do so they were beaten and forced to comply and items on their mobile phones and  laptops were deleted. The journalists were also forced to sign a document without being allowed to read the content. “This act of naked aggression against journalists who are doing their work is uncalled for,” said IFJ President, Philippe Leruth. “These journalists posed no form of threat to the security agents or the government officials. They were simply doing their jobs. Such acts of intimidation and threats are aimed at killing the truth and denying citizens of their fundamental rights to know. The attackers must be brought to justice immediately.” 
 

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