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Tanzanian lecturer 'charged with insulting President on WhatsApp'
A Tanzanian lecturer has been charged with insulting President John Magufuli in a WhatsApp message, reports Reuters news agency.
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The Senior University lecturer was arraigned in court yesterday, Julius Mjengi, police chief of the South-West Tanzanian town of Iringa told Reuters.
The lecturer denies the charges.
Insulting the president was made a criminal offense in Tanzania under a cybercrimes law passed last year, punishable by up to three years in jail or a fine of around $3,000 (£2,300) or both.
The lecturer is the 10th person to be charged under this law.
Those who have faced trial for insulting Mr Magufuli in recent months include students and opposition politicians.
In March, the US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation cancelled nearly $500m of funding for Tanzania partly on concerns over the enforcement of the new cybercrimes law.
Credit: BBC