Burkina Faso’s security forces have arrested the former speaker, days after he called for the immediate release of ousted President Roch Kaboré.
Alassane Bala Sakandé, who is also the leader of the former ruling party, was arrested by police at his home early on Sunday morning.
He was released without charge in the evening after hours of interrogation in the capital Ouagadougou, local broadcaster Radio Omega reported.
“He stands reproached for remarks he made at the news conference of his party, the People’s Movement for Progress held on 24 March,” the AFP news agency had earlier quoted his lawyers as saying.
Mr Sakandé said that the former president was not under house arrest but in detention due to the difficult conditions he had allegedly been subjected to.
The former president was deposed in January and has been held under house arrest since then.
The West African regional bloc Ecowas, which has threatened to impose further sanctions on Burkina Faso, has demanded his unconditional release.
Vote-buying claims mar Zimbabwe by-elections
Independent election observers say the just ended Zimbabwe by-elections were marred by intimidation and vote-buying.
Results from the polls suggest the new opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change CCC, led by Nelson Chamisa, is on course to win most of the 28 parliamentary and over 100 council seats being contested.
Three quarters of the by-elections were because of a split within the main opposition the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
While the opposition is celebrating its wins, results suggest that the ruling Zanu-PF party has made some inroads, including in urban areas.
It managed to snatch several parliamentary and council seats from the opposition.
But independent observer groups like the Zimbabwe Election Support Network said some candidates’ conduct amounted to vote buying, including giving out of foodstuffs to voters.
While the voting day was largely peaceful, it said that the above-average voter turn-out at some rural polling stations suggested community coercion.
The group noted high numbers of people needing assistance to vote in several polling stations.
The final results are expected to be announced on Monday.
Source: BBC
