Comoros ex-president to appeal after house arrest

MORONI: Former Comoros president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, held under house arrest for two years without being charged, is to appeal his detention, his lawyer announced Saturday.

The case lodged with the country´s highest court of appeal is based on “violation of the code of criminal procedure relating to pre-trial detention”, Mahamoudou Ahamada told reporters, speaking on behalf of his client. Ahamada said the former leader was being illegally detained as “the legal terms of preventive detention (eight months) have been exceeded, and no judge has charged him with anything. “This isn´t a penal detention, it´s a political detention. A kidnapping,” he added. Sambi, who served as president from 2006-2011 and is the main opponent of current President Azali Assoumani, has been held under house arrest since May 2018.