Eswatini newspaper’s vehicle torched

Attackers have hijacked and torched a truck belonging to a privately-owned daily newspaper in the southern African kingdom of Eswatini.

The Times of Swaziland reported on its website that attack on its vehicle was meant to “plant fear in our staff and journalists”.

“This incident occurs against a backdrop of an ongoing attempt to label this publication as a state-controlled entity, when nothing could be further from the truth,” the website said.

“We are independent and have defended that independence for many years,” it added.

On 8 February, 20 correctional officers assaulted a journalist after she livestreamed a protest by members of the Swaziland Liberation Movement activist group outside the Matsapha prison where two pro-democracy MPs were being detained.

Last year, dozens were killed in pro-democracy protests calling an end to the 35-year rule of King Mswati III, an absolute monarch.

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