Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday on charges including disseminating false information and will be released soon, media freedom group Reporters Without Borders said. That’s what it means.
He had already served more than six months in prison awaiting trial and was expected to be released hours or days after his sentencing. A court in Kinshasa also fined him 1 million Congolese francs ($360).
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Bujakera previously worked for Congolese online news site Actualité.CD and Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique, among others.
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is seen in Beijing on May 26, 2023. (Photo provided by Wang Xin/VCG)
Bujakera denies all charges and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was accused of fabricating a memo implicating Congolese intelligence officials in the murder of an opposition spokesperson.
“He should never have been arrested, charged, imprisoned or convicted based on a case that was clearly fabricated against him,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
Actualité.CD said in a statement that it supported Bujakera’s report and asked his lawyer to appeal the conviction.
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Bujakera’s imprisonment drew widespread condemnation from international human rights groups.
