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Comoros issues arrest warrant for outspoken ex-VP
MORONI, Comoros, Sept 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Prosecutors in Comoros have
issued an international arrest warrant for a former vice president who
opposed a series of constitutional reforms enabling President Azali Assoumani
to extend his term in office.
Speaking to AFP on Monday, a judicial source confirmed a warrant was out
for the arrest of Jaffar Ahmed Said Hassani, who served as one of the Indian
Ocean archipelago’s three vice presidents.
The warrant was issued as the authorities pressed a crackdown on figures
who opposed July’s controversial referendum, with some arrested on terror
charges while others have gone into hiding, according to opposition sources.
The warrant was issued on Friday when the state security court formally
charged Hassani in absentia with conspiring against the state.
But sources close to Hassani said he had left Comoros on Thursday for a
trip abroad.
Police detained his wife for questioning, holding her in custody for
nearly 24 hours, members of Hassani’s entourage told AFP.
In a briefing note seen by AFP, the foreign ministry informed all
diplomatic and consular missions that Hassani’s diplomatic papers “had been
cancelled”.
A magistrate by profession, Hassani fell out of favour with the
government in June for his open criticism of Azali’s constitutional reforms,
which were overwhelmingly passed during a controversial referendum in late
July.
– Public opposition –
The reforms allow Assoumani run for another term in office and overturn
a five-year rotation of power between Comoros’ three main islands to ensure
political balance in this coup-prone country.
They also do away with the three posts of vice-president, another measure
enshrined in the 2001 constitution.
Hassani had publicly denounced the reforms as “illegal” and a threat to
the country’s political future, warning they risked “plunging the country
into a deep political crisis”.
Several weeks later, he was stripped of most of his duties.
Assoumani was elected in 2016 alongside three vice presidents, but until
the referendum, he was not constitutionally permitted to dismiss them.
Following the vote, the authorities launched a crackdown on the
opposition, charging at least eight of them with plotting attacks on key
government figures. Others have gone into hiding.
Assoumani, who had been due to step down in 2021, is now expected to
stage early elections next year to extend his time in office.
The planned referendum had sparked demonstrations and clashes across
these volcanic islands which won independence from France in 1975 but have
since been blighted by a string of political crises and coups.
BSS/AFP/RY/1750 hrs