A Comoros opposition leader has been arrested in what his lawyers denounced on Friday as a "ridiculous", politically motivated case following a disputed presidential election.
Daoudou Abdallah Mohamed, a former interior minister and the head of the Orange opposition party, was held earlier this week after an altercation with a police officer, authorities said.
He is among a group of opposition candidates who rejected the re-election of President Azali Assoumani in January as fraudulent.
Assoumani is to be officially sworn in later this month.
Social media video
"The charges brought against our client are ridiculous," Daoudou's lawyer, Said Larifou, told AFP.
The allegations were a testament to the "arbitrariness" and "abuse of power" characterising Assoumani's rule, he added.
Daoudou was detained on Tuesday, after posting a video on social media complaining about security officers following him in an unmarked car.
Prosecutors in the Indian Ocean archipelago alleged he went on to accuse one of the agents of being a thief, causing the official to be chased by an angry mob.
Charged in court
On Thursday, Daoudou was charged with endangering the life of a police officer, kidnapping and violence in connection with the incident.
He was also slapped with unrelated additional charges stemming from the disputed election, including inciting a riot, disturbing public order and discrediting public instructions, prosecutors said.
Assoumani was re-elected with 57.2 percent of the vote in January, a result disputed by most opposition candidates.
The vote was followed by deadly protests in the capital, Moroni.
Having initially come to power in a coup in 1999, Assoumani handed over to civilians in 2006 only to return a decade later, winning a vote marred by violence and allegations of irregularities.
He has since been accused of creeping authoritarianism.
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