A former 2019 Comoros presidential candidate, Achmet Said Mohamed, has entered the fifth day of a hunger strike, demanding either a trial or release after being detained for over a year on conspiracy charges, his lawyer reported on Friday.
Supporters of Achmet Said Mohamed, a 48-year-old academic, claim he was arrested just days before the 14 January 2024 presidential election, in which he intended to stand but was barred after the courts rejected his candidacy.
The leader of the Hury Freedom movement is calling for “a trial, his release, or to let nature take its course,” his lawyer, Djamal El-dine Bacar, told AFP.
Achmet has officially been charged with “acts of attack and conspiracy against the authority of the state” as well as “attempted terrorist acts,” according to Bacar.
“My client has been on a drip since yesterday and can barely stand. I’ve received no updates from the judiciary or the National Human Rights Commission,” Bacar stated.
National Security Minister Fakridine Mahamoud declined to comment in detail, telling AFP, “I’m currently abroad and not well-acquainted with his case.”
Achmet garnered approximately two per cent of the votes in the 2019 presidential election, which was won by Azali Assoumani. Assoumani was re-elected in January 2024 in a vote that opposition groups have claimed was irregular.
After the 2019 election, Achmet left Comoros for France and returned in 2023.
He announced his hunger strike in a letter dated 20 January, citing regulations that limit provisional detention to four months, renewable only once.
