VICTORIA, Seychelles — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced a worrying deterioration of press freedom in Seychelles following the expulsion of the editor-in-chief of Today in Seychelles, Vel Moonien, last week. The Mauritian citizen was dismissed from his post on April 22 before being forced to leave the territory on Saturday. The decision came a few months after the sudden and unexplained closure of the public news agency Seychelles News Agency at the end of last year.
‘Vel Moonien is a rigorous and experienced journalist, who has covered sensitive subjects for 30 years while giving voice to all political tendencies,’ Sadibou Marong, director of RSF for sub-Saharan Africa, told AFP. ‘The unfair treatment he has been subjected to illustrates the degradation of press freedom in the Seychelles, less than five months before the first round of the presidential election,’ he added, calling for his reinstatement. RSF has urged the international community to monitor the situation in the lead-up to the September polls.
The Seychellois press has also been under pressure from the government. In April 2024, Ralph Volcère, editor of the Seychelles Independent newspaper, was arrested for taking photographs at Mahé airport showing wealthy Russian holidaymakers, including what he said were beneficiaries of preferential immigration procedures. He was also banned from the quarterly press conferences of the president, where he had criticised other media outlets. The government has not yet responded to the AFP’s requests for comment. Vel Moonien has not yet reacted to the AFP’s solicitations.
