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A journalist from a major private television station in Niamey, Niger's capital, was freed Friday after 10 months in custody, his employer said.

According to a Nigerien journalists' organisation, Ibro Chaibou was the last journalist held in pre-trial detention by the military regime.

Niger has been run by a junta since 2023 and is regularly accused by NGOs of violating press freedom.

"Our colleague Ibro Chaibou has just regained his freedom after 10 months in prison," his employer, the Saraounia channel, said in a statement.

He had been held at Kollo Prison, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Niamey, it added.

Chaibou was one of seven journalists who were arrested in November for "complicity in disseminating a document liable to disturb public order".

After being held in police custody, four of them, including Saraounia Director Moussa Kaka were charged but released on bail.

The three others -- Chaibou, Youssouf Seriba, the editor-in-chief of online publication Les Echos du Niger ad Oumarou Kane, director of Le Herisson newspaper -- were incarcerated.

Seriba and Kane were granted provisional release in July.

The arrests were linked to the leak of an invitation to a press briefing sent to Saraounia by the Solidarity Fund, which was created by the military to call for financial support from the public.

The invitation ended up on social media and was used by associates of the ousted civilian president Mohamed Bazoum to criticise the regime.

According to the UN, a total of 13 journalists were arrested in Niger last year.