(JED/IFEX) – On 24 March 2004, a court in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, cancelled the arrest warrant issued on 16 March against Nicaise Kibel-Bel-Oka, publisher-editor of “Les Coulisses” newspaper. Following the decision, the journalist came out of hiding. In a telephone discussion with JED on 25 March, Kibel-Bel-Oka explained that […]
(JED/IFEX) – On 24 March 2004, a court in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, cancelled the arrest warrant issued on 16 March against Nicaise Kibel-Bel-Oka, publisher-editor of “Les Coulisses” newspaper. Following the decision, the journalist came out of hiding.
In a telephone discussion with JED on 25 March, Kibel-Bel-Oka explained that the arrest warrant’s cancellation came in reaction to pressure from free expression organisations, media outlets and the United Nations’ Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). The journalist also said that his original sentence of five years in prison and payment of US$2,000 in damages and interest was reviewed and reduced to six months in prison and US$5,800 in damages and interest.
Kibel-Bel-Oka’s lawyers appealed the original sentence and asked for the case to be reopened in order to allow the journalist to mount an adequate defence. The original sentence was delivered in Kibel-Bel-Oka’s absence. No date has been set for the resumption of his trial.
