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Lawyer coup suspect freed, provisionally

    NAIROBI

    Authorities in Bangui freed on Tuesday the two-time chairman of the bar association of Central African Republic, Zarambaud Assingambi, after more than two months in jail for his alleged involvement in a coup plot against President Ange Felix Patasse.

    "It's a provisional release," Assingambi, told AFP.

    He was released on the orders of Joseph Bindoumi, the chairman of a commission probing the 28 May coup bid. Assingambi said that during a "long meeting" before his release, Bindoumi told him the judiciary could summon him anytime.

    Assingambi, who was detained on 26 September at the Defence Ministry Police headquarters in Bangui, told Radio France International he is still baffled by his incarceration. "When I was arrested, I heard on the radio that I was the mastermind of the coup d'etat. However, I was actually interrogated only on the articles I had had published in the newspapers," he added. The articles, published by Le Citoyen, called for the dissolution of Bindoumi's commission. Assingambi had been accused as having been the mastermind of the coup, which has also been blamed on former military ruler Andre Kolingba.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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