“I’VE reported around the world and I had never been detained by police, certainly not for walking in just to ask anybody questions.”
These were the words of Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings after his release from police custody yesterday.
Jennings and two of his New Zealand colleagues were arrested by police on Wednesday evening after being accused of alleged criminal trespass.
They were detained at the Totogo Police Station in Suva overnight and were released yesterday. Jennings has worked as a journalist for more than 40 years.
“This is the first time I got detained for simply asking questions,” he said.
“We didn’t feel we had trespassed at all, we thought it was a joke when police came in.
“We have finished our work here and we have been reporting on Freesoul development on Malolo Island.
“We had come to Suva to see the landowners and then we dropped by the Freesoul office to ask about the development.
“Then about an hour later, the police turned up later and took us.”
He, however, said they were treated well by police even though they had spent the night sleeping on the floor.
He said the officers who took them in for questioning should not be blamed because they were working according to orders given.
Jennings said the police force could have violated media freedom laws if they had taken further action.
