Amnesty calls on Ivory Coast to release 'unjustly arrested' election protesters

Amnesty International is calling on Ivory Coast to release of dozens of people arrested during protests linked to October’s presidential election.

Alessane Ouattara won a contested fourth term after two leading opposition candidates were barred from running. The election campaign was marked by protests and a harsh crackdown by authorities.

Amnesty said some of those detained are being held only because they were in the vicinity of the unrest. Among them are three women in the advanced stages of pregnancy, the rights group said.

A lawyer for the women said they were arrested “when going about their daily business” and had been "severely affected, both mentally and physically."

A spokesperson for the government said it is "building a state governed by the rule of law” and that those arrested had “committed offenses.”

In 2016, Ouattara changed the country's constitution limiting presidents to two terms in office.