Senegalese journalist Pape Alé Niang has been released on bail with strict conditions including ban on foreign travel and speaking publicly about the case. 

Niang was granted bail on Wednesday (December 14) by a Senegalese investigative judge in Dakar. 

His release follows his hunger strike that began on December 2 and ended Wednesday, as well as protests by Senegalese journalists at the National Assembly on Monday, local media reports said.

Niang, director of the privately owned website Dakarmatin, was arrested last month in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.

He was charged with disclosure of information to harm the national defence, concealment of administrative and military documents, and dissemination of false information likely to discredit public institutions. 

He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an end to the prosecution of mr Niang.

“The fact that journalist Pape Alé Niang is no longer in a jail cell in Senegal is small relief given the stifling bail conditions placed on him,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator, in New York. 

“Authorities must combat the erosion of Senegal’s democracy by dropping all legal proceedings against Niang and reforming the country’s laws to ensure journalism is not criminalised.”