Al-Jazeera calls for release of two journalists held in Nigeria
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Version 0 of 1. Al-Jazeera is calling for the release of two of its journalists who were detained in north-eastern Nigeria a week ago while reporting on fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels Boko Haram. Ahmed Idris and producer Ali Mustafa were detained in their hotel rooms in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, last Tuesday, and had equipment seized. A statement from the Nigerian military said the men were “operating without protection, accreditation or due clearance” and were detained after “increasing suspicion that their activities were aimed at interfering with the ongoing military operations in the area”. Al-Jazeera said the pair were accredited by the Independent Electoral Commission in Abuja to operate throughout the country as part of the channel’s election coverage. The military statement also refers to warnings to “foreign journalists” about “unauthorised and unprotected movements” in military operational areas, despite the fact both Idris and Mustafa are Nigerian. An al-Jazeera spokesperson said: “It has now been a week since our colleagues were detained. No explanation has been presented to us stating why they have been detained and what will happen next. Both Ahmed and Ali are officially accredited to report on the election and election-related issues and had worked on a story with the full cooperation of the Nigerian military. “As Nigeria is on the cusp of a democratic civilian transition, we call on the Nigerian authorities to release Ahmed and Ali. Detaining two respectable journalists without any reason is unacceptable. They should be released immediately.” The election in Nigeria is the most fiercely contested in the nation’s history, and has been dogged by attacks by Boko Haram and problems with technology. Idris has been with al-Jazeera since 2010, having previously worked with the BBC bureau in Nigeria. Mustafa has been a cameraman with al-Jazeera since 2011. Two other al-Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, are currently waiting for their retrial to resume in Egypt after being convicted last year of broadcasting false news that harmed Egypt’s national security. A third Australian journalist, Peter Greste, was convicted alongside the two Egyptian nationals, but was released and deported at the beginning of February. |