Mozambique: Journalists call on president to free colleague held in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: Journalists call on president to free colleague held in Cabo Delgado

4:01 CAT | 17 Apr 2020

Photo: MISA Moçambique

Ten Mozambican journalists on Friday called on the country’s president, Filipe Nyusi, to order the release of Ibraimo Abu Mbaruco, a journalist who has reportedly been detained by defence and security forces in Palma, in the north of the country.

Media and civil society organisations allege that the journalist, who works for a community radio station in Palma district, in Cabo Delgado province, has been missing since 7 April, when he was detained by members of the defence and security forces.

In the wake of his disappearance, 10 journalists on Friday sent a letter to Nyusi, asking him as commander-in-chief of the defence and security forces to release the journalist.

Ibraimo Abu Mbaruco was, the letter says, forced to accompany the military, who took him without any legal basis.

“It is the duty of the Mozambican state to protect the rights of citizens in general and of journalists in particular, even in situations of war,” it reads, alleging that Mozambican forces have been doing the opposite.

The journalists recall that this is not the first time that Mozambican forces have illegally detained media professionals in Cabo Delgado province.

In early 2019, journalists Amade Abubacar and Germano Adriano were held captive in a military barracks and released only after internal and international pressure. Both were subjected to criminal proceedings that have not yet reached their final outcome.

Last year, journalist Estacio Valoi and David Matsinhe, a local activist for Amnesty International, were also arrested in Cabo Delgado.

This week, Izidine Achá, a journalist with non-state television channel STV, was briefly arrested in the city of Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado.

On Wednesday the European Union expressed concern about the worsening security in Cabo Delgado and the disappearance of Ibrahimo Abu Mbaruco, calling for the situation to be clarified.

The Southern African Media Institute (MISA) said on Friday that the journalist’s family had filed a complaint with the office of the district attorney in Palma regarding his disappearance. MISA says in its statement that several government agencies in Cabo Delgado have been contacted to ensure that Ibraimo Abu Mbaruco returns home and to work safely.

Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado province has been the scene of attacks by armed groups that have claimed hundreds of lives, including civilians, members of the defence and security forces and insurgents, as well as the widespread destruction of property, causing thousands to flee.

The Islamic State organisation has several times claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have been taking place in areas close to sites where multinationals are present that are planning to exploit the natural gas resources of the Rovuma basin.

Source: Lusa