ARABIYA ENGLISH
Starkey said he did not know why he was being detained (File PhotoL AP)
By Reuters, Nairobi
Friday, 9 December 2016
Kenyan police have detained a British journalist working for The
Times and are holding him at the country’s main airport without charge,
his lawyer said on Friday.
“I am trying to
find out why they are holding him,” said lawyer George King, who is
acting on behalf of Jerome Starkey. “They’ve denied me any access.
(Airport) security has refused to give me a pass.”
Kenyan
law requires a suspect to be charged within 24 hours of being detained,
King said. Starkey has been held for 19 hours since getting off an
international flight on Thursday night. Kenyan police and the interior
ministry did not respond to request for comments.
Starkey,
35, covered Afghanistan for five years, travelling to far-flung
provinces by motor bike, before moving to Kenya in 2012 to cover Africa
for The Times, a British newspaper. His recent articles have focused on a
drug-smuggling case involving a British aristocrat, Zimbabwean politics
and conservation. He was pulled aside by police as he reached the
immigration desk, he said in an email.
“The immigration officer
noticed something on her computer and led me to a side room,” he wrote.
“They said there was a security block on my passport, which had been
put there by Kenyan security services.”
“I have no idea why I
am being held, nor has anyone proffered any kind of explanation. As far
as I am aware, I haven’t been charged.”
He said he had been questioned and photographed by an officer from the anti-terror police unit.
Kenyan authorities have been targeting
journalists who challenge authorities, Human Rights Watch said. Earlier
this year, a journalist and a blogger were detained after posting
pictures of Kenyan soldiers killed by Somali militants.
Since
2015, five journalists and eight bloggers have been charged with
“demeaning the authority of a public officer”, “annoying a public
officer”, or defamation, the rights body said.
In October,
Kenyan anti-terror police detained a British man working on
anti-terrorism radio campaigns. They accused him of having extremist
literature at his home. He was released without charge.
(Additional editing by Al Arabiya English)
Last Update: Friday, 9 December 2016 KSA 19:48 - GMT 16:48
Jerome Starkey
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