Guinean opposition MP arrested for 'insulting' President Conde

A Guinean opposition Member of Parliament was arrested during a policy meeting in the capital Conakry for insulting President Alpha Conde.

Ousmane Diallo Gaoual, who is a member of the main opposition Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) confirmed himself on Tuesday that he is “in custody at a police station in Conakry for insulting the head of state,” AFP reports.

The MP was taken into custody and charged for “contempt of the head of state” after a complaint was filed by the state’s prosecution on behalf of the Guinean president, Gaoual’s lawyer, Alseny Aminata Diallo said.

According to the MP, he is being held for statements he made at a UFDG rally on July 30 in Conakry. He added that during his interrogation, the gendarmes accused him of some pronouncements he said the president had made.

Members of government declined to comment due to the continuing investigation. A declaration is expected from prosecutors in some few hours, the Ministry of Justice announced without giving further details.

Gaoual will spend Wednesday night in jail, local media report. If found guilty, according to the Guinean penal code, he faces a sentence of between 16 days and 5 years in prison.

Ousmane Diallo Gaoual was in August 2015 sentenced by a court in Conakry to 18 months suspended imprisonment after his arrest for “intentional offensive” on a Guinean businessman.

The businessman, Mamadou Diallo Dioulde, who reported the incident was an importer contracted to provide cars to MPs of which Gaoual and two others had not received theirs.

The MP’s lawyers had called the ruling a breach of his rights citing parliamentary immunity.