Ivory Coast court sentences 26 opposition protesters to 36 months in prison

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — A court in Ivory Coast has sentenced 26 opposition protesters to 36 months in prison, a lawyer for the opposition party said Friday.

The protesters were part of a large demonstration against the exclusion of opposition candidates from the forthcoming election, a rally that resulted in the arrest of at least 237 people.

“The first trials of those arrested during the Oct. 11 demonstrations have resulted in heavy sentences," Jean-Chrysostome Blessy, executive secretary of the opposition party PDCI-RDA, said in a statement.

Blessy did not reveal the charges that were filed against the protesters. Meanwhile, he said, hundreds of other detainees are awaiting trials, which are scheduled to continue on Oct. 22.

The West African nation is set to go to the polls on Oct. 25. Elections in Ivory Coast have usually been fraught with tension and violence.

Thousands of Ivorians have been protesting against the exclusion of Tidjane Thiam, widely seen as the main challenger to President Alassane Ouattara.

Earlier this year, a court ruled that Thiam was not eligible to run because he held French citizenship as at the time of registration, which is against Ivorian laws. Former president Laurent Gbagbo was also barred from contesting the election.

The protesters said the exclusions were intended to remove any obstacle to Ouattara's fourth-term bid for the presidency.

_