Fadul accuses attorney general of rights abuses

Interim Prime Minister Francisco Fadul has accused Attorney General Amine Saad of neglecting legal deadlines in the cases of soldiers loyal to deposed president Joao Bernardo Vieira, who have been detained without trial since Vieira's overthrow in May, Lusa reported on Tuesday. At a human rights seminar held on Monday, Fadul said over 300 soldiers detained for suspected human rights abuses had not been charged within the stipulated legal time frame, Lusa said. It quoted Fadul as saying that Saad had also failed to seek a court order to continue holding the soldiers beyond this period and that his appeal to Saad for redress had gone unanswered, Lusa reported. Before the general elections of 28 November, Saad announced that he was ready to free at least 100 detained soldiers.