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Detained opposition leader on hunger strike

A plane sprays pesticide on a swarm of desert locusts devouring grazing land. FAO
The UN says more planes are needed to fight the locust invasion
    DAKAR

    Lawyers for jailed Guinean opposition leader Alpha Conde say their client is on hunger strike against his continued detention for alleged subversion, Reuters reported yesterday.

    Philippe Olivier Sur, a French lawyer for Conde, told Radio France Internationale yesterday his client had taken the measure as “a cry for help”.

    Conde’s hunger strike follows a decision by his nine lawyers from Guinea, France and Senegal to suspend their defence as a protest against violation of his basic rights, Reuters said.

    Officials detained Conde on 15 December, a day after incumbent Lansana Conte won presidential elections, the second multiparty polls in the country. The authorities accused Conde, Conte’s foremost opponent, of trying to cross into Cote d’Ivoire in defiance of the formal closure of the border during the election period.

    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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