European arrested for aiding and abetting the planning of an armed coup in the Central African Republic.

Prosecutors in the Central African Republic have arrested a European employee of an American non-governmental organization (NGO) on suspicion of espionage and communications with an armed group planning a coup.

Martin Joseph Figueira, who holds dual Belgian and Portuguese nationality and works as a consultant for the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization FHI360, was arrested on May 25 for posing a threat to the country’s national security, the prosecutor said in a televised statement.

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His arrest was confirmed by the Portuguese Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

A ministry spokesman said Figueira was “arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot against the regime.”

“The Portuguese government is monitoring the case, the number 2 of the embassy in Kinshasa (the capital of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo) visited this citizen yesterday, as did the honorary consul of the Central African Republic,” the spokesman said.

“We also know that he was interviewed (by the authorities). We are waiting for developments in the case.”

France will leave CAF in 2022

In recent years, around 1,600 French soldiers have been stationed in the Central African Republic under the pretext of helping to maintain “peace” after intense inter-communal bloodshed in 2013. But French troops were forced to withdraw, and the last soldiers of the French Operation Sangaris left the country in December 2022.

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Last month, three US citizens and 50 others were arrested following a failed armed coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A spokesman for a member of parliament whose residence was attacked by the militia confirmed that the leader of the coup attempt was US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, who was killed in clashes with security forces.

US Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn said at the time that she was “very concerned” about reports that US citizens had been involved in the deadly incident.

“Please be assured that we will fully cooperate with the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo in investigating these crimes and will hold all U.S. citizens involved in crimes accountable,” Tamlyn said.

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