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afrol News, 19 May - Alpha Condé, who was arrested two days after his defeat in the 1998 Guinean presidential elections, has been released after strong international pressure, according to an announcement by Guinean radio. Condé was pardoned on a presidential decree. - The motives for Alpha Condé's arrest were political and the legal proceedings were severely flawed, according to a statement by Amnesty International. Condé's detention has met massive protest nationally and internationally. According to a report by the BBC, crowds began to gather outside Condé's house immediately after his release had been announced Thursday night. "Thousands of people were besieging his residence, calling for him to come out and speak." Condé reportedly appeared briefly, to enormous cheers, but said he wanted to rest and would make a statement later. Alpha Condé has been noted as the only politician to seriously challenge the rule of President Lansana Conté. In the 1993 presidential election, the official results showed a narrow victory for President Conté, although there were claims that the poll had been rigged. At the following elections, in 1998, President Conté's victory was wider, but the allegations of unfair elections were also louder. Opposition parties criticized the result as unfair and accused the government of rigging the election by denying their supporters voting cards. Immediately after the opposition protests, Alpha Condé was detained. Over sixty members of the Guinean People's Rally party (RPG) - of which Condé is president - were also arrested and sentenced to prison terms ranging from four months to five years. Most stated that they had been tortured in detention, according to Amnesty International. Condé, on the other hand, was held in custody for two years without trial before he was convicted to five years imprisonment on sedition charges late last year. He was supposed to have threatened national security and have supported foreign "rebels" invading from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ten others were also given prison sentences ranging from one year suspended to three years, and four were convicted in absentia. The trial was widely condemned as unjust and politically motivated. "All those convicted who are still in detention are prisoners of conscience, held solely because of their political affiliations, without any proof that they have called for the use of violence," Amnesty International described the trial. The engagement to free Condé was noted all over Africa. Senegalese President Wade has been lobbying for his release and offered him asylum in Senegal. In July, the African Committee of Socialist Parties had condemned the process against Condé, stating it only had the "objective of eliminating one of the most prominent persons of the country from political life." Also the European Union expressed its concern. There have not been given reason for his unexpected pardoning by the President yet. Observers attribute his sudden liberation to a combination of international pressure and a bettering military situation in the Liberian and Sierra Leonean border areas. Guinea has pledges regional and international support in its fight against rebels/terrorists supported by Liberia and the Sierra Leonean RUF. In this situation, the constant pressure for Condé's release, especially by neighbouring Senegal, might have influenced the President's decision. Sources: Based on Amnesty International, BBC and afrol archives
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