DRC: Journalist sentenced in defamation case

The Kalamu Peace Court in the city of Boma, in Bas-Congo province sentenced Popol Ntula Vita, a reporter with the Kinshasa-based weekly "La Cite Africaine", to three months in prison without parole and a fine of US$6,450 in damages. The journalist was prosecuted for "defamation and damaging allegations" against Thomas Ndombasi, the local head of the public tax office (Direction générale des Impôts, DGI), and three of his colleagues.