YAOUNDE, CAMEROON, AFRICA. NOVEMBER 2010 (news.cameroon-today.com) - The two journalists from Cameroon are being freed from prison after the President Paul Biya released orders to the effect.
Two journalists from Cameroon who are currently serving terms in prison under charges of deception and employment of fake documents are being freed from jail following orders from the President Paul Biya. The news was revealed to the members of the press by one of the two convicts who have been serving jail sentences since last March.
Robert Mintya, managing editor of the newspaper Le Devoir , said he and Serge Sabouang, who is his counterpart employed with the daily La Nation, were released from prison around mid day.
President Paul Biya of Cameroon Africa
Bibi Ngota, managing editor of the Cameroun Express, who was also serving a sentence at the same prison under similar allegations had died in prison under mysterious circumstances on April 22.
“As soon as I was free, I went to church to thank God,” Mintya said. “I also thank President Biya as we were told that he had ordered our release.” He however did not come into the open with more pertinent details.
Sabouang and Mintya were arrested by police, “not because of a news article, even less because they are journalists, but because they made false documents with which they carried out incorrect actions,” a representative from the police had revealed to the press during the arrest of the three journalists.
They were put to trial under the allegation of fraudulently replicating the signature of the president’s chief of staff Laurent Esso.
Ngota was also arrested under the same set of allegations and the three were also jailed simultaneously.
The Cameroonian journalists union SNJC was elated to hear the good news of the release of the two journalists.
“Even though it only comes today, after a very long period of detention without judgments, the SNJC welcomes it whatever the real motive,” the union said in a press statement.
Ngota’s death had caused a lot of controversy which is why the two journalists were able to secure an early release. The deceased journalists’ family had alleged that he had not received adequate medical attention or care in the jail in spite of them being aware of the fact that he ailed from high blood pressure and hernia which required surgical attention.
The government however said that his death was due to an HIV infection and related ailments.
