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UGANDA: 6 SOLDIERS JAILED FOR ASSAULTING JOURNALISTS

A military court has sentenced 6 soldiers to jail for assaulting journalists in Uganda.


The convicted soldiers took part in the assault of seven journalists covering Uganda opposition leader's effort to file a petition with the United Nations against human rights abuses on Wednesday.


The battered journalists were left injured with one hospitalised after sustaining a deep head wound, the Ugandan Editors' Guild said. 


A statement from the army disclosed that six soldiers would spend between 60-90 days in detention while the seventh was issued a severe reprimand. 

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General David Rubakuba Muhoozi, Uganda's Chief of Defense Forces apologised to the media during a press conference, where he also promised to pay for the medical care of the injured journalists. 


Speaking against Wednesday's security operatives hostility towards newsmen, the Federation for African Journalists expressed concern that the incident was fast becoming an operational norm.

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“We note with concern that attacks against journalists which started during the campaigns for presidential elections continue to date and appear to have become an operational norm for Ugandan security personnel,” the journalist union said.

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