The continued detention of journalist Stanis Bujakera highlights the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) increasing repression of the media less than three months before the country’s general election.
Development Diaries reports that Bujakera was denied bail by a court on Monday, which defies international bail standards.
The 33-year-old Bujakera was arrested on 08 September at Kinshasa’s Ndjili airport while he was waiting to board a flight.
The Deputy Director of Congolese online news platform, Actualite.cd, was initially detained by the police, but on 14 September he was moved to prison and put in pretrial detention after being accused of spreading false information, forgery and the use of forged documents, and distributing false documents.
Bujakera has been held for 20 days over an article that does not bear his name. By detaining him arbitrarily, the authorities are endangering press freedom in the country.
A journalist should never be imprisoned for doing their jobs in a democratic country. In the absence of tangible actions, the environment for media professionals in the DRC remains exceedingly hostile.
Bujakera’s detention violates Congolese law and the DRC’s international obligations, which provides the grounds for his detention to be regarded as arbitrary under international law.
Development Diaries calls on the Congolese government to immediately release and drop charges against Bujakera and encourage an atmosphere of press freedom in the country.
Photo source: Actualite.cd
