Newspaper editor Daher Ahmed Farah released again

Le Renouveau editor Daher Ahmed Farah was released at the end of a hearing yesterday afternoon in Djibouti after the presiding judge ruled that no crime had been committed and that the defendant was therefore not guilty. Farah, who also heads an opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Renewal (MRD), had been accused of libel by the army chief of staff, Gen. Zakaria Cheik Ibrahim, and of "undermining the morale of the army" by the defence ministry. He was arrested on 20 April, released provisionally on 3 June, and rearrested two days later. "This time I think it's for good," Farah told Reporters Without Borders. "I've been released on both charges and the tendency seems to be to let things calm down. This is good news." Farah has been arrested several times in recent years. In most cases he was accused of press crimes and was fined or sentenced to prison terms.