Twee gerespecteerde journalisten zijn vandaag gearresteerd in Malawi,
nadat ze hadden geschreven over de angst voor spoken van de president.
MALAWI: Two journalists arrested after writing about president's fear of ghosts
New York, March 15, 2005 --Two well-respected journalists were arrested
today by police at their homes in the commercial capital of Blantyre,
in southern Malawi, after reporting that the president feared ghosts
may haunt the presidential palace. They are currently being detained at
police headquarters in the capital, Lilongwe.
According to international news reports and local sources, the arrest
of BBC reporter Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda of the independent
daily The Nation stemmed from reports by the journalists alleging that
President Bingu wa Mutharika had moved out of the presidential palace
because of fears it was haunted. The allegation was widely carried by
Malawian media over the weekend, according to Reuters.
It is unclear whether the journalists have been charged, according to Joseph Makuwira, a spokesman for The Nation.
Reverend Malani Mtonga, a senior adviser to the president whom the
journalists quoted as their source, denied the reports after they
appeared, and President Mutharika has claimed that his political
enemies planted the allegation in the press, according to local and
international news stories.
Bron: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)