DRC: journalist Stanis Bujakera still in custody

Despite protests demanding for his release, the Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera, remains in prison. The court has once again rejected a request for his release from detention and provisional liberty, fearing that he might go on the run.

Stanis Bujakera, who works for Reuters and Jeune Afrique magazine, was detained on September 8 and transferred to prison less than a week later on suspicion of spreading false information.

His arrest followed a Jeune Afrique article published in late August, which suggested that Congolese military intelligence had killed opposition politician Cherubin Okende the month before.

The article -- which was unsigned -- was based on an alleged confidential memo from a separate intelligence agency. Congolese authorities have said the memo is a fake.

Bujakera's trial began on Friday inside the Makala prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, according to an AFP reporter present.

The 33-year-old's lawyers successfully petitioned the court on Friday to delay the proceedings by one week in order to better prepare their case.