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Malawi
892. By letter dated 2 July 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning six journalists, among them Raphael Mwenenguwe, George Ntonya, reporter with The Nation newspaper, and Chikondi Phikiso from the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. On 18 October 2003, officers of the Malawi Police Service beat up six journalists for attempting to take photographs of a scuffle between police and a motorist at a police roadblock on Zalewa Road, between Blantyre and Mwanza districts. The police allowed the journalists to photograph the incident until their officer-in-charge arrived at the site and assaulted George Ntonya, grabbing him by the neck and dragged him around. The policemen joined and beat up the journalists, using batons and the butts of their guns. They also scratched Chikondi Phikiso’s chest with the butts of their guns while insulting her.
893. By letter dated 29 October 2004, the Government informed that a disagreement
between police officers, led by the officer-in-charge, and the journalists erupted over the
motive of the latter’s involvement in the incident. The issue was amicably resolved, with the
journalists apologizing for their actions and the police were remorseful for overreacting. No
legal action was taken by the victims due to the triviality of the matter and probably their
direct involvement in the conflict. The Police Service instituted its own investigation, after the
matter was taken up by The Nation and Radio One of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation.
The police said no action could be taken against the officers apart from issuing a strong
warning, because there was no formal complaint. When the police contacted the journalists to
inquire whether they would like to pursue the case, they showed no interest in doing so.
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Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Malaysia
This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on July 27, 2005.