Tanzania Police Detain Journalist Overnight On Allegations of Unlawful Assembly

Nairobi — Police in Tanzania should drop allegations of illegal assembly against Sitta Tumma, a journalist who was arrested on August 8 and detained overnight, and investigate allegations that he was assaulted by security personnel, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Tumma, a print reporter and regional bureau chief for the privately owned Tanzania Daima newspaper, told CPJ that on August 8 he was arrested while covering an opposition campaign rally in Tarime District, northern Tanzania, ahead of a local authority by-election, even though he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist. He said he was assaulted during the arrest, held overnight at a police station in Tarime, and released on August 9 on bond. Police accuse him of unlawful assembly and have told him he may be required to appear at any time to assist in their investigations, according to Tumma and his lawyer Ernest Mhagama. The lawyer told CPJ that police claimed they could not identify Tumma as a journalist because he was not dressed as one.

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