Comoros: Two Journalists Arrested and Placed Under Judicial Control

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the arbitrary arrest of two Comorian journalists and their placement under judicial control since Monday for “disturbing public order”. A few days before the legislative elections, RSF calls on the authorities not to target journalists and critical media as for the 2019 presidential election.

The reelection contested by the opposition of President Azali Assoumani on March 24 was punctuated by several intimidation and attacks on journalists. Journalist Toufé Maecha had been arrested and accused of being “an opposition spy”

On their way to cover an opposition rally, Ali Mbaé, journalist for the daily Masiwa Komor and blogger Oubeidillah Mchangama, were arrested by the police in Koimbani, in the center-east of Grande Comore, on Saturday 11 January . After spending the weekend in police custody at the Moroni police station, they were heard before a judge on Monday. Accused of “disturbing public order”, they emerged free but placed under judicial supervision. They are now prohibited from leaving the island, communicating on social networks and must report to the investigating judge every week.

The police had already arrested several of the rally organizers that morning and blocked the place where it was to take place, preventing the event from taking place. The first round of legislative elections, scheduled for Sunday January 19, is boycotted by the opposition. 

A few days before major elections, it is essential that journalists and the media can work freely and are not intimidated when they want to cover demonstrations organized by the opposition, said Arnaud Froger, head of the RSF Africa office . The reproduction of the sequence that followed the 2019 presidential election and on the sidelines of which RSF had already deplored numerous attacks on press freedom would send a very bad signal. The credibility of an election is closely linked to the freedom and independence that journalists who wish to cover it can enjoy. ”

The reelection contested by the opposition of President Azali Assoumani on March 24 was punctuated by several intimidation and attacks on journalists. Journalist Toufé Maecha had been arrested and accused of being “an opposition spy”. Two French journalists Louis Witter and Cyril Castelliti were also arrested and interrogated for a day. Newspapers had been directly censored by the security forces. In this climate, Comorian media professionals had decided to boycott government activities for two weeks.

Copyright ©2016, Reporters Without Borders. Used with the permission of Reporters Without Borders, CS 90247 75083 Paris Cedex 02 https://rsf.org

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