Mozambique has bowed to international pressure to release a journalist who was arrested a week ago on suspicion of terrorism.
In the five years since militants began their insurgency in Cabo Delgado province, Arlindo Chissale is the third journalist to be accused of participating in jihadist acts there.
There are reports that Mr. Chassale was denied food while he was in detention in Balama town.
Mr. Chissale was granted a provisional release on Thursday after a judge decided there wasn’t a strong enough case for keeping him in preventive detention, says media freedom watchdog MISA-Mozambique.
Moçambique: Tribunal Judicial ordenou a soltura do jornalista Arlindo Chissale https://t.co/INmqWxurdv pic.twitter.com/VkX6284ixO
— RFI Português (@RFI_Pt) November 4, 2022
Arlindo Chissale was held incommunicado and without access to lawyers since Saturday, the rights group quotes a family member as saying.
Chissale is a freelancer and editor of an online publication. He was taken into custody while working in the mining town of Balama, HRW said.
“The Mozambican government should immediately take steps to locate Chissale, inform his family of his whereabouts, and ensure his safe return home,” the organisation added.
Detention and forced disappearance of local journalists covering the conflict in Cabo Delgado province is common. The last known disappearance was in April 2020 and the journalist has not been heard from since.
