Johannesburg, Oct. 2 (ANI): A media rights watchdog in Libya has expressed concerns over the freedom of information in the Middle East nation, saying that it facing threats due to visa refusals for foreign journalists, bans on films and arbitrary arrests.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "very worried by the signs of a decline in respect for freedom of information... since the election of the General National Congress on 7 July".
"Foreign and national journalists must be able to work freely in post-Gaddafi Libya. Abuse of power should be a thing of the past. It is true the country is in full transition but the Supreme Security Committee's high-handed behaviour is disturbing," News24 quoted RSF, as saying in a statement.
"We call on the new government, above all the interior ministry, to investigate these incidents and to return the equipment that was arbitrarily confiscated from these journalists," the watchdog added.
According to the report, the RSF cited reports of foreign journalists who have had difficulties getting visas to visit Libya after the "11 September attack on the US consulate in Benghazi" that killed four American officials.
The watchdog also charged that the Supreme Security Committee (SSC), a force created by the interior ministry after an uprising toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year, has "arrested journalists arbitrarily," the report said.
It gave the example of British film maker and journalist Sharron Ward and her Libyan interpreter who were detained while filming at a camp for internally displaced people. Ward's equipment was confiscated and she was deported, the report added. (ANI)
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