The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has noted with great concern the siege on press freedom in Guinea-Bissau, the most recent being the attack on the home of Rui Landim, a popular radio commentator and political analyst, on February 8, 2022. We urge the authorities to take measures to protect critical journalists and activists in the country and to ensure that all fundamental freedoms, especially freedom of expression, are respected.
On February 8, 2022, Rui Landim’s house was attacked by armed men, a day after Rádio Capital, the station where he is a regular panel member, was attacked by armed men. Landim was at home with his family when the attackers, armed with AK-47s, opened fire on the gate of his residence, after trying in vain to break down a section of the fence. The attackers fired tear gas into the yard. One of the tear gases fell into his 15-year-old granddaughter’s bedroom, suffocating her.
The tear gas was apparently aimed at forcing Landim to leave. Fortunately, some neighbors took courage and came out shouting and urging the besieged family to stay inside, which they did. The armed thugs, who appeared to be members of the Rapid Intervention Police (PIR), eventually gave up and fled in their vehicles.
Neighbors told the local press that Landim and his family were visibly shaken and traumatized by the attack, which lasted around ten minutes.
For 66-year-old Rui Landim, whose life has already been threatened several times, it is obvious that the attack is related to the analysis of the political situation in Guinea-Bissau that he made as a commentator during the Monday, February 7 edition of the radio program “Pontos nos Ís” on the privately-owned Radio Capital FM. The radio station was attacked on the same day, February 7.
Capital Radio was reduced to rubble by uniformed armed men on February 7, 2022, after a daily morning show where people had the opportunity to question the underlying reasons for the failed coup attempt of February 1, 2022.
Rui Landim expressed his anxiety and fears about the whole situation in a video call with the MFWA.
“Three hours before the attack, I received information about a list of people to be kidnapped, and my name is on the blacklist. I fear for my family’s safety and hold the government responsible for anything that happens. I appeal to national and international opinion on this matter,” he said.
Landim’s daughter, Ludimila Lurdes Gomes Danfa Tavares, who spoke to the MFWA by phone, said that no one was hurt in the attack, apart from the trauma of being close to death. She added that her father is fine. However, the family evacuated the house for safety reasons, adding: “We no longer feel safe in this country.” She said that although the family reported the attack to the police, “they’re not expecting much”.
Meanwhile, the president of the Guinean Human Rights League (LGDH), Augusto Mário Silva, says that he himself was threatened near his home by unknown elements on February 9. He added that the home of his predecessor, Luís Vaz Martins, also a regular critic on Rádio Capital, was also attacked by unknown assailants. Mário Silva noted that the Minister of the Interior, Botche Candé, had failed in his duty to ensure public safety and therefore called for his “immediate resignation”.
The MFWA strongly condemns the brutal attack on Rui Landim’s house as an attack on citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and opinion in Guinea-Bissau. We urge the authorities to put an end to the total repression and silencing of the press and dissenting voices. The MFWA urges the government to hold accountable the perpetrators of the recent violations of freedom of expression in Guinea-Bissau. No viable democracy can be built in an environment of intimidation and insecurity, especially when such an environment suppresses freedom of expression. We therefore call on the government of Guinea-Bissau to rein in the thugs who are terrorizing the press and the voices of civil society.
