Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info
Published on 2024-04-11 16:18:12
The audience held today at the military court of Yaoundé resulted in a postponement to May 9th, as the public prosecutor, who was supposed to produce certain documents related to the journalist’s previous legal situation, was unable to do so.
Journalist Bruno Bidjang must return to the Military Court of Yaoundé on May 9th. On April 11th, the former Vision 4 reporter appeared in court in a case against the Public Ministry for spreading false news. The scheduled hearing for today was supposed to focus on the prosecution’s requested penalty against the accused and also to examine the accused’s criminal record as per the previous hearing’s postponement.
However, the Public Ministry was unable to produce an excerpt of the journalist’s criminal record and requested a postponement. Me Massi, the journalist’s lawyer, reminded the President of the Court that Bruno Bidjang has never been convicted, highlighting his qualities as a citizen and republican. The case was postponed for the same purpose, to May 9, 2024. It should be noted that during the first hearing of this case, journalist Bruno Bidjang had pleaded guilty.
Bruno Bidjang was arrested last February on suspicions of “incitement to uprising, endangering state security, and incitement to insurrection,” but ultimately, he was charged with “spreading false news” by the government’s commissioner at the military court, Cerlin Belinga.
This new case marked the journalist’s third arrest in four years. Three years prior to his 2024 arrest, Bruno Bidjang had also experienced the custody of the Mobile Intervention Group (GMI) regarding the assassination of Bryan Fombor, a well-known young man in the elite circles of Yaoundé. In this case, Ivana Essomba, Bruno Bidjang’s wife, who also had romantic relations with the deceased, was the main suspect. Ivana Essomba’s arrest also led to the journalist Bruno Bidjang being detained for 11 days by the GMI. Bruno Bidjang was kept in custody because he was the last person to speak to Ivana Essomba before she contacted Bryan Fombor, who was subsequently brutally murdered. Investigators wanted to know what the two lovebirds were discussing on the phone before the heinous crime.
In January 2023, Bruno Bidjang was also arrested in connection with the assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo. A case for which he is still being prosecuted.
Adolphe Mbarga
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
