Congo expels Reuters journalist Rolley

Democratic Republic of Congo expelled a French journalist working for Reuters after her application for journalistic accreditation was not approved.

Bate Felix of Reuters writes, “Sonia Rolley applied in September for accreditation to take up an assignment coordinating Reuters news coverage in Congo. She was granted permission to cover a climate conference in the capital, Kinshasa, in October while she waited for the application to be processed.

“On Tuesday, she received a written summons to present herself to immigration police in Kinshasa, who she said confiscated her passport and put her on a flight to Paris via Addis Ababa. No reason for the decision was provided to Rolley, she said.

“The police communications department referred Reuters to the Interior Ministry. Reuters was unable to reach the Interior Ministry spokesman late on Tuesday, and calls to officials at the Ministry of Communications and Media went unanswered.”

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