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Death threats against journalist

    JOHANNESBURG

    A Malawian journalist and media rights activist, Rob Jamieson, has been receiving anonymous telephone calls warning him of fatal consequences if he continued to distribute a report criticising the state-owned media’s coverage of the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections last June, media freedom group Article 19 said on Wednesday.

    The report, published in March, alleges that two media “disinformation task forces” were established by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) of President Bakili Muluzi during the election campaign to ensure that the state media reflected the ruling party’s views.

    According to Article 19, one anonymous caller referred to the notorious “Mwanza case”, in which four prominent Malawian politicians died in 1983, stating that a similar “accident” could be arranged.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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