Mozambique journalist charged with espionage

A Mozambican journalist who was arrested while interviewing people displaced by jihadist attacks in the country's north has been formally charged with espionage, a media rights group told AFP on Monday.

A respected radio journalist, Amade Abubacar was arrested on January 5 in Macomia, a small town in one of the areas worst hit by the Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique.

Lazaro Mabunda of the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), which is providing him with legal representation, said Abubacar had been formally charged with espionage and various other offences on Friday.

The prosecution said the "names and contacts of jihadists wanted by the police" had been found in Abubacar's possession, Mabunda told AFP.

But he said the charge was unfounded as Abubacar was known for his investigative work, which involved contact with people wanted by the police without implying collaboration.

"The prosecution alleges that Amade Abubacar was gathering information to send to jihadists because he was found with contacts of some people suspected of carrying out attacks but that is not enough to reach such a conclusion," he said.

His lawyer has made an application for bail but the court has not yet answered the request.

The charges were formalised a day after Abubacar was moved from a military facility to a civilian prison where he was to await trial.

His arrest has been denounced by Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and American Bar Association.

Abubacar works for state-owned Radio e Televisao Comuniteria Nacedje de Macomia in the northern Cabo Delgado province, a gas-rich area which has been hit by a wave of jihadist attacks which began in October 2017.

Since then, more than 100 people have died in the violence which has forced thousands to flee their homes.

Numerous journalists have also been arrested while covering militant attacks in the region.

In December, troops arrested the acclaimed investigative reporter Estacio Valoi, who was freed two days later without charge. And six months earlier, they arrested Pindai Dube, a Zimbabwean correspondent for South African private broadcaster eNCA.