International Freedom of Expression Exchange: The global network for free expression
26 March 1999
Alert
Journalists still detained, one faces four-year jail term
Incident details
Andre Ipakala, Modeste Mutinga, Thierry Kyalumba, Mbakulu Pambu Diambu journalist(s) legal action(CPJ/IFEX) - CPJ is expressing its deep concern over the continued
detentions of four journalists - Thierry Kyalumba, André Ipakala, and
Modeste Muntinga, editors for the private newspapers "Vision", "La
Référence
Plus" and "Le Potentiel", respectively, and Mbakulu Pambu Diambu,
president
of the local chapter of the Congolese Press Union and broadcaster for
the
private station Radio-Télévision Matadi (RTM) - under the authority of
the
Court of Military Order (Cour d'Ordre Militaire) in Kinshasa. Trials
before
this court cannot be appealed to a higher court. CPJ is also alarmed
that
the impending verdict in the trial of Kyalumba, which is scheduled for
26
March 1999, may incur a sentence of four years imprisonment, as called
for
by the prosecution. All four journalists have been arrested for carrying
out
professional responsibilities involved in reporting on the conflict in
the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 25 March, 16 March, 15 March, 19 January 1999
and 8
December 1998**
Pambu Diambu was arrested in late November 1998 and detained at the
National
Information Agency (ANR) offices in Matadi. Pambu Diambu appeared before
the
Court of Military Order and was charged with breaching state security
for
hosting an RTM television program on which he allegedly interviewed
representatives of the Congolese Rally for Democracy rebel forces.
On 12 January 1999, Kyalumba was arrested in Kinshasa in connection with
an
article published in "Vision" which reported that Uganda may have
purchased
missiles for use by rebels active in the Kasaï Province. On 15 January,
the
journalist was referred to the military court, accused of "disclosing
military secrets in wartime."
On 14 March, airport security agents arrested Ipakala and Mutinga, at
the
Ndjili Airport in Kinshasa upon their return from Pretoria, South
Africa,
where they attended a conference on the conflict in the Democratic
Republic
of Congo organised by the African Center for Constructive Reconstruction
of
Disputes. Ipakala and Mutinga were interrogated for four hours at the
airport, and then turned over to National Information Agency (ANR)
security
agents, who took them to ANR headquarters and held them without charge.
Ipakala and Mutinga have been accused of meeting with representatives of
the
Congolese Rally for Democracy rebel forces and former officials of the
Mobutu Sese Seko regime. On March 24, the journalists were transferred
to
the custody of the Court of Military Order.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the President:
-
Pambu Diambu, Kyalumba, Ipakala, and Mutinga - under the authority of
the
Court of Military Order
his
invaluable war reporting
dismay that
His Excellency's government has defined the journalists' professional
communication with rebel representatives as subversion
on
the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and on efforts to bring
about a
peaceful solution to the conflict
Kyalumba,
Ipakala, and Mutinga constitute violations of journalists'
internationally-recognized right to seek, receive, and impart
information
and ideas of all kinds
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 9 of the African
Charter
of Human and People's Rights, to all of which the Democratic Republic of
Congo is a signatory
Kyalumba,
Ipakala and Mutinga, and to ensure the right of all journalists in the
Democratic Republic of Congo to report the news freely and without
reprisal
Appeals To
His Excellency Laurent-Désiré Kabila
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Ngaliema, Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo
Fax: +243 88 02120 / 1 202 234 2609
and/or c/o the diplomatic representative of your country:
(in the USA)
Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fax: +1 202 345 2609
Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the United Nations
Fax: +1 212 319 8232
(in France)
Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fax: +33 1 42 89 80 09
(in Canada)
Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fax: +1 613 747 9152
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
Source:
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 7th Ave., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
USA
info (@) cpj.org
Phone: +1 212 465 1004
Fax: +1 212 465 9568
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