Two angry men in Guinea Bissau, stormed the premises of privately-owned daily Diario de Bissau newspaper amidst death threats and attacked Joao De Barros, the newspaper’s editor, and destroyed their equipment.
The action of the two men, Almando Dias, a businessman and his driver, followed a May 14 article that Diario de Bissau published about the narcotic trafficking in the country.
The article headlined: “Guinea Bissau, a Suspected Narcotic State” carried photographs of four prominent personalities including former President Nino Vieira, as being victims of drug trafficking in the country.
In an interview, Joao De Barros told MFWA that the attackers completely destroyed the newspaper’s equipment.
There was widespread condemnation of this particular attack on Diario de Bissau newspaper and the impunity with which journalists and media are attacked by agents of drug criminals in Guinea Bissau.