Six Ivory Coast opposition officials released after months in custody

Six local officials from Ivory Coast's main opposition party were released on Monday after several months in custody, their lawyer said.

Lawyer Ange Rodrigue Dadje wrote on Facebook that the PDCI activists were freed after a hearing at the anti-terrorism chamber on Monday, July 20, after nine months in detention. He declined to say on what grounds they had been released.

Two other local officials from the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, or PDCI, were released in May. The eight officials, all party members in Abidjan, had been arrested between late September and early October 2025, before the presidential election.

Dozens of opposition supporters were detained around the election period, which was marked by arrests, deaths and the exclusion of opposition figures. PDCI leader Tidjane Thiam and former president Laurent Gbagbo were barred by court rulings from running.

Several dozen activists from different opposition parties, including senior politicians, were arrested or jailed. Hundreds of civilians accused of attending banned protests during the campaign were convicted, and about 10 people died.

President Alassane Ouattara's government denied that the arrests were politically motivated. Former defence minister Moise Lida Kouassi, who served under Gbagbo, and opposition cyberactivist Ibrahim Zigui were also released earlier this month.