UK ‘must use aid donor status to help journalist in Tanzania’
The Labour chairman of the International Development Committee, Stephen Twigg, a senior UK MP, urged the UK Government to use its influence as one of the largest aid donors to Tanzania to secure the release of the detained journalist Erick Kabendera, “I am very concerned about the case and I urge the UK Government to use its influence to secure [Erick’s] release.”
Mean while, The British High Commissioner has met Tanzanian officials to raise concerns over the case, including pressing for “due process and transparency”.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “Media freedom is vital to functioning societies, and journalists must be able to investigate and report as they see fit.”
Before Mr Kabendera’s detention, the committee had launched an inquiry into how countries were meeting development goals related to civil society and justice.
It is understood that the committee will also look at infringements on media freedom and, in light of Mr Kabendera’s arrest, the rights of journalists in Tanzania.
“The police (Tanzania) have the right to detain a person for 24 hours, after which they are required to charge him before a court of law or seek leave to detain him for a longer period from a magistrate. In Erick’s case, the Tanzanian police did neither.”
The UK spends £153m a year on Tanzania, which has helped to provide hundreds of thousands of people with access to clean water and sanitation, education, family planning and nutrition, as well as enabling farmers to get their produce to market.
The Labour chairman of the International Development Committee, Stephen Twigg, a senior UK MP, urged the UK Government to use its influence as one of the largest aid donors to Tanzania to secure the release of the detained journalist Erick Kabendera, “I am very concerned about the case and I urge the UK Government to use its influence to secure [Erick’s] release.”
Mean while, The British High Commissioner has met Tanzanian officials to raise concerns over the case, including pressing for “due process and transparency”.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “Media freedom is vital to functioning societies, and journalists must be able to investigate and report as they see fit.”
Before Mr Kabendera’s detention, the committee had launched an inquiry into how countries were meeting development goals related to civil society and justice.
It is understood that the committee will also look at infringements on media freedom and, in light of Mr Kabendera’s arrest, the rights of journalists in Tanzania.
“The police (Tanzania) have the right to detain a person for 24 hours, after which they are required to charge him before a court of law or seek leave to detain him for a longer period from a magistrate. In Erick’s case, the Tanzanian police did neither.”
The UK spends £153m a year on Tanzania, which has helped to provide hundreds of thousands of people with access to clean water and sanitation, education, family planning and nutrition, as well as enabling farmers to get their produce to market.
