Rfi correspondent in Cameroon sentenced to ten years in prison

A military tribunal in Yaounde has sentenced Ahmed Abba to ten years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism related offences.

Mr Abba who is the correspondent of Radio France Internationale was arrested in July 2015 and detained in the military tribunal in Yaounde awaiting trial. His case has been adjourned more than ten times.

He was accused of complicity with terrorist acts and not denouncing such acts when he was covering the Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of Cameroon.

Mr Abba says he will appeal the decision. Ahmed is the Haussa language correspondent of Rfi .

There have been recurrent calls from media groups and some important political figures for the immediate release of the journalist, who consider the allegations as unfounded

Recently, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Marc Ayrault made his voice heard. “We are defending this journalist who was doing his job and is detained in conditions that we cannot accept,” Marc Ayrault said.

Terrorism in Cameroon is punished by a death sentence following a controversial anti-terror law passed in 2014.

Since 2014 when the president declared war against Boko Haram in France, Cameroon has been battling with the terrorist group.