RSF deplores censorship of Libyan weekly Al Wassat
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 12 May 2016 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, RSF deplores censorship of Libyan weekly Al Wassat, 12 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57762d574.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns repeated seizures of issues of the weekly newspaper Al Wassat by Libyan soldiers and the intimidation of its distributors in recent weeks.
Ten thousand copies of this Libyan newspaper, which is printed in Egypt, were seized at a Libyan military checkpoint on 22 April and again yesterday as they were being transported by road to their distribution point in the eastern city of Benghazi. One of the newspaper's employers present at the seizure was threatened. The same soldiers detained and interrogated the local distributor for three days before releasing him on 24 April. As a result of these threats, the person in charge of distributing Al Wassat in the west of the country has told the newspaper's management he cannot continue.
"Censoring media outlets and intimidating their employees is unacceptable," said Yasmine Kacha, the head of RSF's North Africa desk. "The restoration of peace in Libya requires respect for media freedom. Journalists have a key role to play today in Libya. It is vital and urgent that they should be allowed to work freely."
Although a new, UN-backed Government of National Accord was installed in Tripoli on 30 March, the media continue to be subject to a great deal of harassment. In a press release on 31 March, RSF urged Prime Minister Fayez El Saraj to undertake publicly to protect media freedom.
