Assalé Tiémoko Antoine, mayor of Tiassalé and president of the political party Aujourd’hui et Demain la Côte d’Ivoire (ADCI), has been charged by Ivorian authorities with “disseminating false information,” “disrupting public order,” and “use of offensive language.”
Following his hearing before the senior investigating magistrate of the 8th Chamber of the Abidjan Court of First Instance on 15 May 2026, he was placed under contrôle judiciaire (judicial supervision, a pre-trial measure under French-based law that can include travel bans, reporting obligations and restrictions on public statements) for an unspecified period.
According to a statement from ADCI’s National Executive Committee, Assalé Tiémoko Antoine was requested by the Abidjan Police Prefecture to appear on May 12, 2026, to officially receive a summons scheduling his hearing for May 15, 2026.
These proceedings follow an incident that occurred on May 11, 2026. According to the ADCI, as he was preparing to board a flight to France and then Canada, as part of a diaspora outreach tour for ADCI, Assalé Tiémoko Antoine was notified verbally by the authorities that he was prohibited from leaving Cote d’Ivoire, without any official document being presented to justify the travel ban.
As a reminder, Assalé Tiémoko Antoine had previously been detained on April 22, 2026, following statements he made during an interview on the YouTube channel Actupeople with journalist Guillaume Vergès, recorded during a visit to France in March 2026.
In the interview, he claimed that the ruling party had “stolen” his victory in the December 2025 legislative elections in Tiassalé. After nearly 14 hours of questioning, from 10 a.m. on 22 April to approximately 1:30 a.m. the following morning, Assalé Tiémoko Antoine suffered two cardiovascular episodes during the proceedings.
He was transferred under police escort to the Institute of Cardiology in Abidjan. The following day, while still hospitalised, the prosecutor placed him in custody by telephone, a measure that was lifted eight hours later, at 5 p.m. on 23 April, when Deputy Prosecutor Abou Chérif visited the hospital in person. He was subsequently released but remained under investigation.
In light of the concerns raised about his health, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) calls on the relevant authorities to ensure that he is granted adequate and continuous access to the medical care he requires.
MFWA urges the Ivorian authorities to uphold fundamental rights, the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression in any legal proceedings brought against political figures, journalists, or critical voices. The MFWA also calls on the authorities to ensure that provisions relating to public order and the dissemination of false information are not used arbitrarily to restrict public debate or punish criticism in a democratic context.
