Journalist Sophie van Leeuwen is no longer a suspect in Sierra Leone and has left the country. RTL News reports that. The Africa correspondent, who is investigating the convicted drug criminal ‘Bolle Jos’, was arrested last week on suspicion of espionage. After days of interrogations, the local authorities have withdrawn the charges.
Sophie van Leeuwen was in the West African country to report on the search for Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos. He would be hiding in Sierra Leone.
Memory cards seized
The journalist was arrested on Thursday at a checkpoint near the capital Freetown. She had the required press accreditation and had permission from the local authorities to do her work. Nevertheless, she was arrested and taken to a police station.
Van Leeuwen was suspected of espionage and the unlawful capture of image. For two days she was interrogated by agents from the criminal intelligence service. According to RTL, her guest address and assets were searched. Her passport and equipment were also taken for research. She had already been released, but she was not allowed to leave the country while awaiting the investigation.
No soil for espionage
The suspicions were withdrawn on Sunday. The authorities have returned the passport and the equipment to the journalist. Two memory cards have been seized and video material on her laptop was deleted by the police. The reason for this would be ‘safety reasons’.
Van Leeuwen has now left Sierra Leone. “It is good that the local authorities also realize that there is no ground for an indictment like espionage. We hope that Sophie will soon be home with her family in South Africa,” said RTL Nieuws-editor Ilse OpenNeer.