- A court in Niger has rejected what it called "illegally-obtained evidence" against Radio France International correspondent, Moussa Kaka.
Kaka, also a Director of privately-owned Radio Sarouniya, was arrested by Nigerien police on 20 September.
He was charged with "involvement in a plot against the state authority" for his suspected links with the Agadez-based rebels, Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).Nigerien authorities had tapped Kaka's telephone communications with MNJ members.
But the magistrate presiding over the case dealt a blow to the prosecution after he had rejected the tapes of Kaka's conversations with the rebels to be tendered as evidence in the court, describing it as "illegally obtained."
"This was the only evidence the prosecution had in its case," the Director of the International Federation of Journalists Africa Office, Gabriel Gbaglo, wrote in a letter to the Nigerien President, Muhamed Tandja. Gbaglo saw no justification for Moussa to be charged or detained in the absence of any further evidence against him.
"We are very worried about the continued detention of our colleagues and the serious charges they face stemming from their professional work," he said.
The editor of 'Air Info', Ibrahim Manzo Diallo, has also been detained since his arrest by police on 9 October. He was charged with "criminal association" he allegedly with the MNJ.
The IFJ called on President Tandja to immediately drop the "baseless charges" against the two journalists.
Niger and The Gambia are seen as greatest bulldozers of human rights, in particular the right to freedom of speech and expression, in West Africa. The two countries have been petitioned to the African Commission on Human and People's Rights extra-ordinary session in Congo Brazzaville over their eroding human rights.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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