A doctor in Gabon
who helped treat and catalogue injuries inflicted on protesters during
the violent aftermath of a disputed August election has been detained
for four days, a relative and rights activists said on Monday.
Sylvie Nkoghe-Mbot was
arrested on Thursday at a Libreville hospital where she was visiting
victims wounded last month during a rare bout of violence in the Central
African country after the re-election of President Ali Bongo, her
brother told Reuters.
"We still have not been told
why she was deained and we haven't been able to communicate with her,"
said Rene Nkoghe, reached by telephone. "Everytime we ask questions the
answer is no," he added.
The announcement of
Bongo's narrow victory on Aug. 31 sparked immediate allegations of fraud
from the opposition, led by Jean Ping, and mass protests during which
the Parliament building was badly burned.
Activists
say Nkoghe-Mbot, also a union leader for medical workers, filed a
"preliminary report" on Sept. 8 documenting the injuries of victims
inflicted by security forces.
A rights activist
who read it said she reported six deaths and 30 injuries, some from
bullets, as well as allegations of torture. The government has claimed
just three people were killed, including one police officer.
The
government has denied any wrongdoing in the polls and the country's
highest court rejected the opposition's appeal for a recount on Sept. 23
and calm has since prevailed.
However, the opposition say that an unspecified number of their members remain in detention.
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