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| - A Benin opposition leader who was barred from contesting upcoming presidential elections has been detained for questioning, a special court's prosecutor said Thursday. Reckya Madougou's candidacy for the April 11 elections was rejected by the electoral commission for failing to garner required signatures of support from local mayors and lawmakers. Her detention came as critics accuse President Patrice Talon of cracking down on political opponents who say the April ballot will be rigged in the incumbent's favour. Prosecutors at the Economic Crime and Terrorism Court (CRIET) said in a statement that Madougou was detained by police on Wednesday around 7pm (1800 GMT) in the capital Port-Novo. "Madougou and certain members of her party have, in all likelihood, plotted to disturb the electoral process with grave acts of terrorism," Prosecutor Elonm Mario Metonou said. As of Thursday afternoon, Madougou had not been charged while her lawyer Renaud Agbodjo asked for her "immediate release". "Madougou was unjustly arrested," Agbodjo said in a statement. "Benin's democratic goals cannot be undermined by President Talon's strongman tactics." Talon's supporters dismiss opposition charges of election rigging and say the vote will be fair. Madougou is accused of sending money to a military officer tasked with "murdering an influential authority" and "eliminating a second authority during the funeral of the first victim." According to the prosecution, Georges Sacca, a close collaborator of Madougou, met with Colonel Ibrahim Mama Toure on February 26 to discuss both tasks. The two men were later detained by police, Metonou said, without saying if they were charged or released. "The goal of these operations is to provoke terror, chaos and therefore succeed in suspending the ongoing electoral process," Metonou said. "From confessions of the Colonel, it emerged that the money was sent by Madougou." Joel Aivo, another opposition member who was barred from running, said he witnessed Madougou being arrested. "Our car was blocked by security forces... four officers took away our car with Mrs Madougou aboard," he wrote on social media Wednesday. Minutes before her arrest, the leader of the Democrats party, a close ally of former president Boni Yayi, had denounced the current regime's tactics. "We will not succumb to intimidations, obstacles and bullying," said Aivo. On Tuesday, two members of Madougou's party were charged with conspiracy and terrorism, their lawyer and a judicial source said. "Bio Dramane Tidjani and Mamadou Tidjani are political hostages," Madougou had said after their arrest. Separately, Sebastien Ajavon, a key opposition leader who came in third in the last election and was convicted of drug trafficking in 2018 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, was sentenced in absentia on Monday to five years for forgery and fraud. Ajavon is currently living in exile in France, like many of the country's opposition members. Talon, a cotton tycoon, was elected in 2016. He had initially said he would complete only one mandate, later changing his mind and announcing in mid-February he was running again. Benin has long been viewed as a vibrant democracy, but Talon's critics say the country has veered into authoritarianism under his rule. str/spb/sba/lhd/
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