19 May 2010

Alert

Journalist released on bail after more than one month in detention


Incident details

Release on bail

Popol Ntula Vita, Publisher

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(JED/IFEX) – On 15 May 2010, journalist Popol Ntula Vita was released on bail of 300,000 FC (approx. US$337) after spending 32 days in detention, reports Journaliste en Danger. Ntula was held at the central prison in the town of Boma, about 120 km from Matadi, the capital of Bas Congo province, in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ntula, publisher of the Boma-based weekly "Le Tonnerre", was arrested at the Boma District Court prosecutor's office when he responded to a summons on 13 April following a defamation complaint brought by the town mayor, Marie Josée Niongo Nsuami. The complaint stemmed from a piece published in the 13 March issue of the paper, which criticised the mayor's management of the town.


Source:

Journaliste en danger (JED)
B.P. 633 - Kinshasa 1
374, av. Col. Mondjiba
Complexe Utexafrica, Galerie St Pierre, 1er niveau, Local 18 Kinshasa/Ngaliema
République Démocratique du Congo
direction (@) jed-afcentre.org
Phone: +243 81 99 29 323
Fax: +44 20 7900 3413
 

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