Santomean pastor detained in Côte d'Ivoire released
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe (PANA) - The government of Sao Tome and Principe on Thursday announced the release of Pastor Ludmilo Veloso da Costa. who was detained in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where he was serving a one-year jail term for defamation.
According to the Secretary of State for the Media of Sao Tome and Principe, Adelino Lucas, Pastor Veloso is currently "in custody" at the Angolan embassy in Côte d'Ivoire, after being released by the Ivorian authorities .
His release followed the approach undertaken by the Sao Tomean authorities," Lucas said, noting that the date of the return of the Sao Tomean delegation that is in Abidjan will be announced in the coming days.
The Sao Tomean government has called on the population and the family of the pastor of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) to remain calm.
He was serving a one-year prison sentence for committing cyber-crime and defaming his colleagues through a fake profile on social media.
His imprisonment provoked violent demonstrations that resulted in the death of one person and the destruction of the temples of IURD, as well as the burning of vehicles.
-0- PANA RMG/IZ/CJB/JSG/SO/KND/VAO 2Nov2019
