By Enyichukwu Enemanna
More than two months after his detention, a court on Tuesday ordered the release of a Senegalese journalist and prominent anti-government critic, his lawyers said.
Pape Ale Niang, head of the Dakar Matin online news site, was arrested on November 6 and charged with “divulging information likely to harm national defense.”
Niang, a regular columnist on current affairs was released on December 14 but sent back to prison a week later and had since been on a hunger strike in protest over his detention.
His lawyer, Moussa Sarr said the temporary release order came with a strict ban on Niang from commenting on the case as well as a travel ban.
He was “extremely strained” from a hunger strike launched in protest at his detention, the lawyer said, adding that he is still in hospital.
The journalist has been at Dakar’s main hospital since December 24, where doctors have voiced concern about his condition, according to a local press organization.
Another of his lawyers, Cire Cledor Ly, said the case was “political” and Diang ought to end the hunger strike.
“He held out, it was very hard, but he was fighting for a principle and he has won,” the lawyer said.
The case against Niang arose after he wrote about rape charges faced by Senegal’s main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko.
Niang was accused of describing confidential messages about security arrangements for Sonko’s questioning by investigators, according to trade unions.
His detention sparked a wave of criticism from the press, civil society groups and Senegal’s opposition, with many calling for his release.
