Niger judge orders release of RFI reporter
(Adds RFI comment, details on French hostages)
By Abdoulaye Massalatchi
NIAMEY, June 23 (Reuters) - A judge in Niger ordered the conditional release of a reporter for Radio France International (RFI) on Monday, but he stayed in jail because the public prosecutor lodged an appeal, a judicial source and RFI said.
Moussa Kaka, director of a private radio station and correspondent for French state-owned RFI, will stay in jail until an appeal court rules on his case, the source and the radio said.
Kaka was arrested on Sept. 20 and accused of receiving gifts or direct payment for reports on the Niger Justice Movement (MNJ), a rebel group led by Tuareg nomads which has fought government forces in Niger's desert north since February 2007.
RFI says the only contact Kaka, who is from Niger, had with the rebellion was through his work as a journalist.
RFI News Director Genevieve Goetzinger expressed concern over the length of time it may take for a decision.
"We have no idea about what will happen now," she told Reuters. "What we are sure about is Moussa Kaka's innocence."
"Of course, we regret the appeal," she added.
Uranium-rich northern Niger has been off limits for foreign journalists since August as part of efforts to combat the rebels. At least 200 rebels and 70 government troops have been killed in a year of inconclusive on-off fighting between the MNJ and the army.
The MNJ is demanding greater regional autonomy and control over revenues from foreign uranium mining.
The rebels seized four French employees of French nuclear group Areva (CEPFi.PA) at its Cominak mine in the north of the country on Sunday, an abduction they said showed the government could not guarantee the safety of foreign mining operations.
Red Cross staff worked on Monday to arrange their release.
"We're trying to see if we can contribute to their return, we're working on it," Juan Coderque, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regional office in Dakar, Senegal, told Reuters.
He could give no further details of the organisation's contacts with the Niger rebels.
Niger has a poor record for press freedom and Kaka's arrest and continued detention is one of a list of actions by President Mamadou Tandja's government to have alarmed press watchdogs.
Two reporters for European TV station ARTE were arrested in mid-December for violating the terms of their media accreditation by filming rebel fighters in the Sahara instead of reporting on bird flu as they had said they would.
After initial fears they could face the death penalty if convicted, the two were released on bail in January.
In September, the government deported independent French TV producer Francois Begeron after holding him for a month for visiting northern Niger without its authorisation. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/) (Additional reporting by Alistair Thomson in Dakar and Tamora Vidaillet in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Giles Elgood)
By Abdoulaye Massalatchi
NIAMEY, June 23 (Reuters) - A judge in Niger ordered the conditional release of a reporter for Radio France International (RFI) on Monday, but he stayed in jail because the public prosecutor lodged an appeal, a judicial source and RFI said.
Moussa Kaka, director of a private radio station and correspondent for French state-owned RFI, will stay in jail until an appeal court rules on his case, the source and the radio said.
Kaka was arrested on Sept. 20 and accused of receiving gifts or direct payment for reports on the Niger Justice Movement (MNJ), a rebel group led by Tuareg nomads which has fought government forces in Niger's desert north since February 2007.
RFI says the only contact Kaka, who is from Niger, had with the rebellion was through his work as a journalist.
RFI News Director Genevieve Goetzinger expressed concern over the length of time it may take for a decision.
"We have no idea about what will happen now," she told Reuters. "What we are sure about is Moussa Kaka's innocence."
"Of course, we regret the appeal," she added.
Uranium-rich northern Niger has been off limits for foreign journalists since August as part of efforts to combat the rebels. At least 200 rebels and 70 government troops have been killed in a year of inconclusive on-off fighting between the MNJ and the army.
The MNJ is demanding greater regional autonomy and control over revenues from foreign uranium mining.
The rebels seized four French employees of French nuclear group Areva (CEPFi.PA) at its Cominak mine in the north of the country on Sunday, an abduction they said showed the government could not guarantee the safety of foreign mining operations.
Red Cross staff worked on Monday to arrange their release.
"We're trying to see if we can contribute to their return, we're working on it," Juan Coderque, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regional office in Dakar, Senegal, told Reuters.
He could give no further details of the organisation's contacts with the Niger rebels.
Niger has a poor record for press freedom and Kaka's arrest and continued detention is one of a list of actions by President Mamadou Tandja's government to have alarmed press watchdogs.
Two reporters for European TV station ARTE were arrested in mid-December for violating the terms of their media accreditation by filming rebel fighters in the Sahara instead of reporting on bird flu as they had said they would.
After initial fears they could face the death penalty if convicted, the two were released on bail in January.
In September, the government deported independent French TV producer Francois Begeron after holding him for a month for visiting northern Niger without its authorisation. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/) (Additional reporting by Alistair Thomson in Dakar and Tamora Vidaillet in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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