Vision 4 Journalist and Managing Director of l’Anecdote Media Group, Bruno Bidjang, has been freed after spending six months in jail for “spreading false news”.
L’Anecdote Group said he was released today after exhausting his six-month sentence issued by the Yaounde Military Court in July.
“On this occasion, the L’Anecdote Group wishes to express its sincere thanks to the judicial authorities and the Prison Administration of the Republic of Cameroon, for the sense of fairness and the constant concern it received during its period of detention,” the media house said in a statement.
His release comes a month after the Yaounde military court sentenced him to six months in prison. At the time of his sentence on July 11, he had already served five months.
Bidjang, who manages the media estate of Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, now imprisoned over the killing of journalist Martinez Zogo, was detained on February 6.
His lawyer, Barrister Charles Tchounhang, said he arrested, questioned and detained at the Yaoundé State Secretariat for Defense (SED) over a TikTok video he made about Hervé Bopda, who was arrested on January 31 after allegations that he had committed multiple rape and sexual assaults.
On February 15, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for his immediate release.
It strongly argued that the Cameroon Government “must be free to comment and share criticism about issues of public interest without fear of reprisal”.
