AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - The Bishops' Conference define the closure of Radio Bakhita "unfortunate"

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Juba (Agenzia Fides) - Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference or SCBC Secretary-General, Fr. Jacob Odwa remarked that the closure of Bakhita Radio: the voice of the church at the service of lives is just "unfortunate".
On August 16, security service had blocked transmissions and arrested journalists (see Fides 18/08/2014), which were subsequently released, except the News Editor David Ochan Nicholas, who is still in custody.
The radio is accused of having reported the position of the opposition linked to former Vice President Riek Machar who accused government forces of having attacked first in the recent fighting in Unity and Jonglei States.
Fr. Odwa complained that the government should have dealt with the problem in a different way, rather than closing down "the voice of the Church".
Several members of civil society have defined the closure of Radio Bakhita as well as the arrest of Nicholas "unconstitutional", who is held not by the judiciary but by the security service that does not have the authority to detain persons in police custody. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 19/08/2014)


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