Congo on Thursday banned the Qatari news network Al Jazeera over its interview with Bertrand Bisimwa, the leader of M23, a violent rebel group that has seized territory in the region, the Associated Press reported.
Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya stated that authorities revoked Al Jazeera’s press credentials in Congo, saying the network interviewed the head of a “terror organization without proper accreditation.”
He added that the interview was “tantamount to an apology for terrorism and totally unacceptable,” and urged journalists not to “give the floor to terrorists.”
M23, full name the March 23 Movement and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a Tutsi-led rebel group based in eastern Congo.
While there is no law banning media organizations from covering rebel groups, Congo’s justice minister threatened the death penalty for journalists and others who report on M23.
Congo is the latest to ban the Qatari news network.
“Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and now Congo [have banned Al Jazeera],” wrote Joe Truzman, senior analyst at the Foundation of Defense of Democracies.
Last week, the Palestinian Authority banned the network from operating in Judea and Samaria, saying it aired “incitement and false reports that stir internal unrest and interfere in internal Palestinian affairs.”
Israel served the network’s Samaria bureau with a closure order in September, accusing the channel of incitement to and support for terrorism.
