Release Photo Vendor

POLICE HAVE arrested a street vendor for selling pictures of Osama Bin Laden. This is completely absurd and anti-democratic. Undercover officers in Nakivubo Mews arrested Abdul Semakula. Police said that the purchased pictures will be produced in court as evidence. Evidence of what? Last week The New Vision published a story about vendors selling photo collages of Bin Laden but we never dreamed that it might lead to their arrest. Street vendors all over the world have been selling posters and books of Bin Laden. Moreover, newspapers both in Uganda and the rest of the world have been continuously publishing pictures of Bin Laden since 11 September. As a result, newspapers have added 10 per cent or more to their circulation. Are the police now going to arrest the editors of The Monitor and The New Vision? It is not even a crime to sympathise with Bin Laden. It is only a crime to actively participate in terrorist activities. Semakula should be released immediately.