MWAG CONDEMNS DETENTION OF NEWSPAPER EDITOR

TUESDAY, March 14 - The Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) Tuesday expressed "grave concern and alarm" at the brief detention of newspaper editor George Worme by police as part of their investigations into a criminal libel matter.

"The Media Workers Association of Grenada considers the action by the Police as intended to intimidate the Editor of the Grenada Today and Media Workers in country," MWAG said in a statement.

Worme, editor of the Grenada Today newspaper, had been detained in connection with an article published in the February 17 issue of his newspaper. But his lawyers said the move was a blatant attempt at muzzling the media.

MWAG said that anyone aggrieved by the newspaper article should take the matter before the civil courts adding "the decision of the Police to pursue the matter under criminal libel is unwarranted and seemed designed to pressure the media".

MWAG said that this is not the first time that such action had been used to intimidate journalists, recalling the threat two years ago by the Government Information Service (GIS) to "use the full force of the law" if journalists reported on an allegation involving the Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and a former Grenada trade envoy.