Mozambique: EU condemns ‘arson attack’ on newspaper, demands swift investigation

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Mozambique: EU condemns ‘arson attack’ on newspaper, demands swift investigation

3:08 CAT | 25 Aug 2020

Photo: Lusa

The European Union delegation in Mozambique on Tuesday condemned what it said was clearly an arson attack on Sunday on the Canal de Mozambique newspaper, calling on the authorities in the country to undertake a swift investigation into the crime.

“The European Union delegation in Mozambique strongly condemns the arson fire at the Mozambique Canal facilities on the night of 23 August this year”, a statement on the delegation’s wesite reads.

Independent media such as the Canal de Mozambique play a crucial role in fostering democracy in the country, it adds.

“Freedom of the press and freedom of expression in all its forms are fundamental freedoms which must be universally respected,” the note stresses.

Speaking to Lusa on Monday, the editor of Canal de Mozambique, André Mulungo, said that jerry cans were found inside the newsroom, one of them still containing some fuel, indicating that someone must have brought the cans into the newspaper’s premises, after breaking down the front door.

“The signs we find inside the newsroom leave no doubt that this is a criminal act and not an accident,” he said.

A number of entities in Mozambique and abroad have already condemned the attack on the newspaper.

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, has also condemned the attack and pledged that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Source: Lusa