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Lisbon, April 7, 2021 – Authorities in Guinea-Bissau should drop their criminal libel investigation against the private broadcaster Radio Capital FM and two of its journalists, and reform its defamation laws, the Committee said today for protection of journalists.
On February 9, the prosecution issued a summons to Radio Capital FM asking that a representative appear for questioning, but did not specify why, according to Sumba Nansil, co-host of the news program “Tira Teimas” on the broadcaster, who spoke to CPJ in a telephone interview, and a copy of the summons, which CPJ reviewed.
Capital FM owner and director Lassana Cassamá was out of the country at the time and Nansil responded to the summons on behalf of the station and was questioned by the prosecution on February 16, the reporter told CPJ. On March 5, the office also summoned and interviewed Sabino Santos, host of the station’s “Debate Nacional” program, Santos told CPJ in a telephone interview.
Prosecutors questioned each journalist about comments they made on air and in media interviews about the National Energy and Water Company (EAGB), which had filed a complaint for criminal defamation against the station to authorities, Nansil said.
Nansil and Santos told CPJ they publicly noted that their station’s EAGB electric meter malfunctioned shortly before Radio Capital FM’s office was raided and vandalized on July 26, 2020, disabling its security systems. security.
“The authorities in Guinea-Bissau should drop their criminal libel investigation against Radio Capital FM and its journalists, and should allow the media to report freely,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “The country should drop its outdated criminal defamation laws and ensure that there are appropriate civil remedies for these issues, in line with the trend in Africa and the rest of the world.”
Under article 126 of the Penal Code of Guinea Bissau, criminal convictions for defamation can lead to fines and prison terms of up to one year; according to article 127, if an offense is deemed to have been committed by a point of sale as a whole, the prison sentence of those found responsible can be increased to 18 months. The fine is set at the discretion of a judge and can total several thousand dollars, Luis Martins, lawyer for Radio Capital FM, told CPJ via a messaging app.
Martins said the two journalists were placed under travel restrictions while the libel investigation was ongoing. Nansil and Santos are required to warn authorities of their intention to leave the capital, Bissau, for more than five days, according to Santos and reports.
On July 26, 2020, unidentified gunmen wearing the uniform of the Guinea Bissau National Guard attacked Radio Capital FM’s office and destroyed its broadcasting equipment, as CPJ documented at the time. Bubacar Turé, vice-president of the League for Human Rights in Guinea-Bissau (LDHGB), a local rights group, told CPJ by telephone that investigations into last year’s attack on the radio station had not progressed.
Namir Tavares, a spokesperson for EAGB, condemned the attack on Capital FM and told CPJ by phone that journalists should not blame the electric utility without proof, and said the company believes that his reputation had been tarnished because of their comments blaming the electric utility.
Tavares said she and an EAGB technician told representatives of Radio Capital FM that the station’s electric meter was not working at the time of the attack because it had been tampered with.
Nansil told CPJ that Radio Capital FM notified EAGB that the meter was not working three days before the attack and that no EAGB technicians were dispatched to fix it until the station was turned on. attacked.
“EAGB doesn’t want to be blamed, but it was its lack of service that left the radio station vulnerable, and the company shouldn’t sue for not wanting to hear the truth,” Nansil said.
Martins told CPJ he believed the criminal defamation case was politically motivated and an attempt to harass Radio Capital FM, which he said is seen as critical of the government. Martins said he provided the public prosecutor with “sufficient evidence” that Nansil and Santos’ on-air comments were factual and supported by evidence.
Turé also told CPJ he believed the investigation was the government’s attempt to restrict coverage by critical news outlets, and that the prosecutor’s office acted surprisingly quickly to restrict journalists’ movements “for something. as fair as publicly declaring the EAGB power cut before the attack. was suspicious and practical for the attackers.
Santos told CPJ, “After falling victim to the attack on the radio premises, harassment and violence that authorities failed to seriously investigate, Capital FM journalists quickly became suspects and perpetrators. guilty. ”
Asked about the investigations into Santos and Nansil, as well as last year’s attack on Radio Capital FM, Queba Coma, a spokesperson for the prosecution, told CPJ via a messaging app that the two investigations were in progress. investigation phase and details could not be provided. Public.
Previously, on March 18, 2020, Santos and another radio commentator faced a criminal defamation complaint over their discussion of a political leader alleged to have been linked to an attempted coup in Guinea-Bisssau, said Santos. The case was closed two days after its first hearing, after a court found that, given the context in which the remarks were made, they did not constitute a crime, Santos told CPJ.
Separately, on March 12, 2020, Radio Capital FM journalist Adão Ramalho was beaten and escaped an attempted kidnapping in Bissau, and in June 2020, Serifo Camara, an editor of the station, was attacked. and stolen in an attack he believed to be retaliation. for his work, as CPJ documented at the time.
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