A Cameroonian journalist for Radio France International has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for failing to report acts of terrorism to the authorities.

Ahmed Abba, who was arrested in July 2015, was tried by a military court under an anti-terrorism law passed in 2014.  The court had been told that evidence was found in Ahmed Abba’s computer showing he had been in contact with Boko Haram Islamist militants and that they had communicated information to him about future attacks. However he denied the charges.

A representative of Amnesty International Ilaria Allegrozzi, condemned the trial of a civilian in a military court. “Ahmed Abba’s conviction, after torture and an unfair trial, is clear evidence that Cameroon’s military courts are not competent to try civilians and should not have jurisdiction in these cases,” said Amnesty International’s Ilaria Allegrozzi.

The central African country’s veteran ruler Paul Biya has faced international censure for alleged human rights violations in recent months, including during the suppression of protests in Cameroon’s two western English-speaking regions.

Read more on Reuters

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow