Posted on 08/11/2009 6:20:21 PM PDT by Loyalist
NIAMEY — A Niger opposition chief was put back in prison Tuesday after being freed following his arrest for calling for protests against a new constitution extending the president's rule, his organisation said.
Earlier in the day, Niger police teargassed a crowd of political figures and human rights activists who had come to attend the trials of the opposition leader and a prominent journalist.
"Marou Amadou has just been kidnapped aboard two 4x4 vehicles by members of the Republican Guard at the prison in Niamey as he was trying to complete formalities for his freedom from prison," Ali Idrissa, a member of his non-governmental organisation FUSAD, told AFP.
"We chased after the vehicles. They trapped us on Tilladeri route, west of Niamey. We conclude from this that the authorities are not willing to respect the court decision," said Idrissa, a member of Amadou's United Front for the Protection of Democracy (FUSAD).
FUSAD later said in a statement that "Marou has been incarcerated at the high security Koutoukale prison."
"Neither his lawyers, nor his advocates, not even judicial officials were informed," his lawyer Marc Lebihan said, adding that he feared for his client's life.
Earlier, a Niamey judge had freed Amadou, who was arrested in the morning for calling for protests against the adoption of a new constitution extending President Mamadou Tandja's mandate by three years.
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Obama taking notes?
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