Two journalists of state-owned RadioTélévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC) have been freed by a Kinshasa court after paying bail of $120 each.
Vincent Hata and Michel Shango were arrested on July 26 for union activity and taken to the prosecutor’s office on August 8. A third RTNC journalist who was arrested with them, Eugène Risasi Ntambwe, was released on July 31.
The journalists' release follows a request presented by the journalists' lawyer who, in a letter addressed to the public prosecutor on August 8, had deplored the fact that the arrest of the journalists happened prior to the actions for which they were accused.
The journalists were arrested on July 26, whereas the actions for which they were prosecuted took place on July 27, Journaliste en danger (JED) reported. This arrest appeared as "a form of intimidation to impose the law of silence within the RTNC", the lawyer said.
Hata and Shango were arrested by agents of the Republican Guard on the orders of RTNC General Manager Kipolongo Mukambilwa. On July 28, they were transferred to the headquarters of the Directorate for General Intelligence and Special Services (DRGS), after shortly being held at the Colonel Tshatshi military camp.
The journalists were charged with "publicly insulting the president, trying to destabilise RTNC and discrediting the government by launching a strike and attempting to organise a union meeting despite the administrator's objections."
Ntambwe was released on July 31 after he had been held for five days because of his union activities as well. He was not charged. He told JED that he was stripped of his shoes, handcuffed and whipped 30 times while held in a military camp. He was transferred on July 28 to cells inside the headquarters of the Directorate for General Intelligence and Special Services (DRGS), which is known as “Kin Mazière.â€
A member of DRGS had told JED that the journalists were charged with “publicly insulting the president, trying to destabilised RTNC and discrediting the government by launching a strike.â€
“Illegal arrests are on the increase,†Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. “The Congolese constitution recognises trade union freedom. It is a key element of labour rights and a corollary of free opinion. The RTNC chief’s allegations against Hata, Shango and Ntambwe do not seem to have any serious basis. Furthermore, we fear that they could be mistreated. They should therefore be released at once.â€
In an interview with JED, RTNC’s chief union representative rejected the allegations and said the three journalists had just been trying to organise a general meeting with a few view to demanding additional rights for the station’s employees. The RTNC management and union representatives have at been at loggerheads for several months.
