Pierre Dabla, managing editor of La Voix de la Nation, a privately-owned news website was on April 3, 2014, arrested and detained at the police post of the Hédjranawoé market (an area north-east of Lomé).
According to the MFWA’s correspondent, while he was reporting from the Hédjranawoé market, Dabla chanced upon some police officers seizing some goods at the market and decided to take pictures.
He was subsequently arrested, ordered to delete the pictures he had taken on his camera. His recorder was seized. He was held for about an hour before being released.
This new incident involving Dabla adds to the already long list of journalists whose rights have been abused by the security forces while they were discharging their professional duties.
The MFWA strongly condemns these repeated attacks on journalists and urges the Minister of Security and Civil Protection to take strong measures to ensure that journalists are free to perform their professional duties. We also call on the Minister to bring security personnel who violate the rights of journalists to book.
For more information please contact:
Sulemana Braimah
Executive Director
MFWA
Accra
Tel: 233-0302-24 24 70
Fax: 233-0302-22 10 84
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