Newspaper editor and lawyer released

The Guinean government has released the news editor of an independent weekly newspaper and the lawyer of an opposition politician who disappeared following last month's assassination attempt on President Lansana Conte after holding them in custody for three days. Benn Pepito, the news editor of La Lance, and Paul Yomba Korouma, a lawyer who had been acting for missing opposition politician Antoine Soromou, were arrested within hours of each other on Wednesday night. They were both freed on Saturday. Pepito told reporters: "I was detained on allegations of terrorism against the state and conspiracy with regard to the attack on the motorcade of President Lansana Conte at Enco 5 (cinque) last month.” "I was also questioned over my relationship with Antoine Bokolou Soromou," he added. Pepito said Korouma had also been released. The lawyer, who was not immediately available for comment, has claimed publicly that Soromou was kidnapped, apparently by government agents. Soromou is a former mayor of the southeastern town of Lola and leader of the National Alliance for Development, a small opposition party. He and veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde were jailed from 1998 to 2000 on charges of plotting to overthrow Conte. On his release, Soromou moved to Cote d'Ivoire, where he set up a timber business. He returned to Guinea in late 2004 and was arrested on 6 January on the grounds that he had entered the country without a valid passport. He was held for a week before being released on 13 January on police bail. However, Soromou disappeared completely following an incident on 19 January when armed men fired on the president's motorcade in the capital Conakry, seriously injuring a bodyguard. Pepito had followed the Soromou saga closely and had written several articles about government harassment of the politician and his eventual disappearance.