Abidjan – Police took the spokesman of Ivory Coast’s largest opposition party into custody on Wednesday, accusing him of “terrorist acts”, his lawyer told AFP.
Ivory Coast authorities have detained a string of opposition figures in the wake of the October presidential election which returned Alassane Ouattara to power, with critics accusing his government of repression.
Having returned to Ivory Coast on Monday following several months abroad, Bredoumy was set to stand in the parliamentary elections set for late December.
His lawyer Jean-Chrysostome Blessy, who accompanied him, said Bredoumy “exercised his right to remain silent” and pointed to his immunity.
The authorities claimed he was caught red-handed in some of the crimes, removing the need to seek parliament’s approval to prosecute him, Blessy said.
In a video on social media, the lawyer denied that Bredoumy was caught in the act, branding his detention “a grave violation of the rule of law”.
Compared to previous Ivorian elections, which saw mass outbreaks of violence, this year’s presidential vote passed off relatively peacefully, with a few incidents that saw 11 people killed.
However Ouattara’s most credible rivals, including PDCI leader Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running against him.
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Source: AFP
