Radio figure Mselem Ali dies in the Comoros
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Comores Infos
Mselem Ali, a former Radio Comores journalist and former editor-in-chief of Radio Ngazidja, has died in the Comoros. A radio figure in the 1990s and 2000s, he was notably arrested in 2003 after an editorial criticising the justice system and referring to suspicions of corruption, according to Comores Infos.
Mselem Ali, a former Radio Comores journalist and a prominent figure in Comorian radio journalism, has died, Comores Infos reported. He had made his mark on several generations of listeners during Radio Comores’ heyday, particularly in the 1990s.
At the start of the 2000s, he continued his career at Radio Ngazidja, the public station of Grande Comore, where he was notably editor-in-chief. On 1 August 2003, police arrested him on the station’s premises along with its director, Abdou Djibaba, after the broadcast of an editorial criticising the functioning of the justice system and referring to alleged corruption.
The Committee to Protect Journalists documented his arrest and detention. Reporters Without Borders also mentioned the episode in its 2004 annual report. Mselem Ali was released on 13 September 2003 after a court hearing, according to the CPJ.
In 2011, he took part in the programme “What is the role of the media in the Comoros?”, alongside Bacari Ali Selia, director of Radio Dounia Web, continuing his engagement with issues related to information and the role of the media in Comorian society.
