A notable DR Congo reporter is on trial over an article he published alleging that intelligence operatives executed an opposition politician.
Stanis Bujakera, a Reuters and Jeune Afrique magazine journalist, was arrested on September 8 and transported to prison less than a week later on charges of distributing fake information.
His arrest came after a late-August story in Jeune Afrique alleged that Congolese military intelligence had murdered opposition lawmaker Cherubin Okende the month before.
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The unsigned piece was based on an alleged confidential memo from a different spy organization. Congolese authorities have stated that the memo is a forgery.
According to an AFP correspondent present, Bujakera's trial began on Friday inside the Makala jail in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital.
On Friday, the 33-year-old's lawyers successfully petitioned the court for a one-week delay to prepare their case further.
However, considering the awful conditions at Makala, no immediate decision was taken on a request to release Bujakera on humanitarian grounds temporarily.
The trial comes as political tensions in the DRC rise ahead of the December 20 presidential and parliamentary elections.
