JULY 6, 2005
Updated: July 28, 2005
Joseph Bessala Ahanda, Le Front
IMPRISONED
CPJ sources said a prosecutor ordered Ahanda, editor-in-chief of the private weekly Le Front, jailed during a judicial investigation into defamation allegations against him.
The case stems from a series of reports in Le Front alleging that the former director of the Cameroon Postal Services and the publication director of a private newspaper collaborated in embezzling state funds, local sources said.
Peter William Mandio, Le Front‘s publication director, said Ahanda was being held at the Kodengui Prison in the capital, Yaoundé. It was unclear whether Ahanda would face trial, and he could be detained indefinitely while the investigation is taking place, Mandio told CPJ.
Ahanda was released without charge on July 21, Mandio told CPJ.
Le Front is based in the southern commercial city of Douala, but is distributed throughout the country.