The spokesperson of Côte d'Ivoire’s main opposition party was jailed on Thursday on 18 charges, including “terrorist acts” and “conspiracy against State authority”, AFP learned from his lawyers.

Several dozen opposition members have been arrested this presidential election year — the vote took place in October — but only a few high-ranking figures have been charged and detained.

Soumaïla Bredoumy is also a Member of Parliament for the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) and a candidate in the legislative elections scheduled for late December. His lawyers said they were not aware of the specific acts attributed to their client.

The opposition party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, the African Peoples’ Party – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), has decided not to participate in the legislative elections.

Both leaders of these political groups, Tidjane Thiam (PDCI) and Mr. Gbagbo, were excluded from the presidential race, and Mr. Thiam has been outside the country for several months.

On Thursday, Mr. Bredoumy “was placed under a detention warrant and jailed” at the Abidjan Penitentiary Center (PPA), said lawyer Jean-Chrysostome Blessy.

The charges include: “terrorist acts, assassination,” “conspiracy against State authority, attack against State authority, disturbance of public order,” “interference in electoral operations,” and “participation in a banned or undeclared demonstration,” according to Mr. Blessy.
He is also accused of “wilful destruction of property,” “organizing an armed group,” “theft,” and “advocacy of murder.”

Mr. Bredoumy “does not acknowledge these charges,” said another lawyer, Luc Kacou Adje.
“We negotiated favorable detention conditions so that he can be placed alone in a cell, given his status as a Member of Parliament,” he added.

After several months abroad, Bredoumy returned to Côte d’Ivoire on Monday and was taken into custody Wednesday on an initial list of 11 charges in a flagrant délit procedure — a constitutional exception allowing prosecution of a parliamentarian.

“Intimidation”

In response to Mr. Bredoumy’s detention, the PDCI denounced in a statement what it described as “an illegal, arbitrary procedure” and more broadly “a strategy of intimidation, harassment, and pressure on dissenting voices.”
The party also called for his “immediate release.”

In early November, a senior PPA-CI official, Damana Pickass, was also charged and detained on similar accusations related to the presidential election, including “terrorist acts” and “assassination.”

Authorities have maintained in recent months that the arrests have no connection to political affiliation and that all those detained are subject to regular investigative procedures.

The 25 October presidential election, won by Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, took place largely peacefully in a country long accustomed to deadly political crises.