Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has granted a presidential pardon to journalist Rene Capain Bassene after eight years of imprisonment.
Bassene was freed from a Dakar prison on Wednesday, concluding a detention that press freedom advocates heavily criticized.
Authorities previously sentenced the prominent local writer to life in prison over a brutal 2018 massacre in Casamance.
The high-profile tragedy involved the rounding up and execution of 14 loggers inside the protected Bayottes forest.
Casamance remains geographically isolated from northern Senegal and has weathered a simmering independence rebellion for over four decades.
Prosecutors initially accused Bassene of masterminding the forest slaughter by colluding closely with regional separatist rebel forces.
The Committee to Protect Journalists vehemently condemned the conviction, labeling it a grave and tragic miscarriage of justice.
Independent reviews of the judicial files revealed a severely flawed state investigation marred by coerced confessions and torture.
Acquitted co-defendants later admitted that security officials beat them extensively to force false testimonies implicating the journalist.
Furthermore, a key separatist rebel commander recently broke his silence to publicly deny that Bassene had any factional involvement.
The veteran journalist instead focused his entire professional career on documenting the regional struggle and promoting lasting peace.