An appeals court in Niger has ruled that detained journalist Ibrahim Manzo should be granted a provisional release.
Manzo's attorney Moussa Coulibaly says his client will be freed Wednesday after spending four months in prison.
The lawyer says Manzo, chief editor of the newspaper "Air Info," will remain under investigation.
He was detained in October on charges of "criminal association" for allegedly having contact with the Tuareg rebels of the Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ).
Last year, the government of Niger temporarily shut down "Air Info" because of the paper's coverage of an attack by rebels on government forces.
The media freedom group Reporters Without Borders applauded the court's decision to release Manzo.
The Paris-based group added that it hopes the move bodes well for another detained journalist, Moussa Kaka. The Radio France Internationale correspondent was detained in September.
An appeals court in Niamey will rule on Kaka's case on February 12.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
