MISA Mozambique welcomes rare conviction after attack on local newspaper

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MISA Mozambique welcomes rare conviction after attack on local newspaper

8:22 CAT | 03 May 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Facebook]

The Mozambican Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA, yesterday applauded what it calls the ‘rare’ judicial conviction of the originator of an attack on a local newspaper in the centre of the country.

“For MISA, this is one of the rare cases in which individuals averse to the press, who steal and vandalise media equipment, are held responsible for their actions,” a statement from the body reads.

At issue is the theft of a mobile phone and destruction of work by the newspaper ‘Profundus’ in Nhamatanda district, following intimidation by municipal authorities of journalists working there in November, 2022.

Despite being notified, the now-convicted man, identified as Moisés Manuel, never attended the trial, and was convicted in absentia and sentenced by the Judicial Court of Nhamatanda to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 meticais (€72.00).

“In the meantime, a search and arrest warrant has been issued for him to serve the sentence resulting from this trial,” MISA announced.

MISA saluted Nhamatanda’s judicial bodies “for their courage and professionalism”.

The organisation appealed to justice authorities “from top to bottom, to follow Nhamatanda’s example of exemplary punishment for aggressors of journalists who, although duly denounced and sometimes well known, remain unpunished,” the organization’s comments conclude.

One of the most serious cases occurred in August, 2020, when a fire in Maputo devoured the facilities of Canal de Moçambique, a leading weekly newspaper in the country.

The incident was declared an act of arson by the paper and condemned by domestic and international press freedom organisations, but authorities remained unable to clarify the cause of the blaze.

All our freedom depends on press freedom.

But in every corner of the world, freedom of the press is under attack.

On #WorldPressFreedomDay & every day, the world must stand with journalists as they stand for the truth. pic.twitter.com/9bdDzTv4QY

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 3, 2023

Today is #WorldPressFreedomDay, marking the 30th anniversary of this #UNInternationalDay.

Theme – “Shaping a Future of Rights: #Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”. #WPFD reminds us that press freedom is the cornerstone of democratic societies”. pic.twitter.com/pe91OArh9f

— UNESCOsouthernAfrica #Education #Sciences #Culture (@unescoROSA) May 3, 2023