(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 May 1999, Gustave Kalenga, a journalist with “La Flamme du Congo” newspaper, was released from the Makala central prison. His release follows the withdrawal of a complaint filed by the company Minière de Bawanga. On 3 April, Kalenga, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, had been sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence. The withdrawal […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 May 1999, Gustave Kalenga, a journalist with “La Flamme du
Congo” newspaper, was released from the Makala central prison. His release
follows the withdrawal of a complaint filed by the company Minière de
Bawanga. On 3 April, Kalenga, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, had been
sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence. The withdrawal of the slander
complaint against him annuled the trial and allowed for the journalist’s
immediate release. His release can largely be attributed to the appeal by a
group of journalists and human rights defenders, including the organisers of
the group Journaliste en Danger (Journalist in Danger), to the mining
company’s president.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 27 April and 6 April 1999**
