Journalists held in Cameroon
2010-02-09 09:23
Yaounde - Cameroon's secret service has arrested two journalists from independent publications for possessing a document that could compromise powerful figures, sources said on Monday.
The Directorate General for External Intelligence (DGRE) detained Simon Herve Nko'o, from the weekly Bebela, and Serge Sabouang of the bi-monthly La Nation, on Friday.
Bebela's publication director Henriette Ekwe said the DGRE was still holding Nko'o "in secret" on Monday.
He was arrested "because he possessed a document that is compromising for powerful people in the republic", including the secretary general of the president's office, Laurent Esso, Ekwe said.
In a statement, the editorial staff of Bebela denounced the arrest as arbitrary and said Nko'o had not been allowed to contact his family.
A source close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the DGRE was holding Sabouang and Nko'o at its buildings in Yaounde.
According to the same source, two other journalists were briefly held on Friday over the same matter.
No details were available of the document the two men are accused of holding.
- SAPA