Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Alpha Condé, President of Guinea has expressed concern over the cancellation of the accreditation of Mouctar Bah, correspondent of Radio France Internationale (RFI).
PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter, condemned the decision of regulatory body and considered it an attack on media freedom. PPF urged the authorities and media regulatory body to look into this matter and withdraw its decision.
According to Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), on November 14, 2018, the media regulatory body Haute Autorité de la Communication (HAC) has taken the decision following the story of Bah on crackdown on the protestors by law enforcement agencies which led to the killing of two protestors and a police officers.
HAC summoned the journalist on November 12, following a complaint filed against him, accused for unbalanced coverage of the protests, specifically about the killings recorded on November 7th and 8th. The Minister of Information and Communication, Amara Somparé filed the complaint.
According to statement of HAC, the journalist was provided a chance to the Ministry of Defense to respond the story before cancelling his accreditation. The statement further added that, “No application for a new accreditation can be considered before the end of February 2019.”
However RFI have challenged and rejected the decision of HAC.
