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Comoran President Azali Assoumani pardoned 17 opposition figures imprisoned in a decree issued Wednesday, a few days after taking office following an election, critics say they were manipulated to reinforce his grip on the power.
Hbadane Ahmed el-Barwane, secretary general of the main opposition party Juwa, was sentenced to seven years in prison for badaulting a soldier.
All those who were pardoned were sentenced to imprisonment of up to 20 years for reasons related to the unrest that followed a controversial constitutional referendum to extend the president 's term of office. last year.
Four other lifers for attempted coup d'etat and threat to state security saw their sentences reduced to 20 years, said presidential adviser Mohamed Ismailla.
Among them were the writer Said Ahmed Said Tourqui and Bahbadane Ahmed Said, brother of former Vice President Djaffar Ahmed Said, who had fled to France.
Azali was sworn in on Sunday, two months after his controversial reelection, promising "appeasement measures" to quell accusations of electoral fraud.
He was credited with nearly 60% of the votes cast in the polls in March, a result rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and many observers.
His 12 opponents of the opposition remained away from his swearing-in ceremony, accusing the president of undermining democracy.
The president said he wanted to relaunch the dialogue with "official status" for the opposition leader and involve the opposition in "making decisions on major national issues".
Comoros has had an unstable political history since independence in 1975, having suffered over 20 coup attempts, four of which have been successful.
Azali first took power as a result of a coup d'etat, then led the country between 1999 and 2006 and was re-elected in 2016 as a result of a tainted vote violence and allegations of irregularities.
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