Arrest for Guinea leader 'insult'

Lansana Conte has been unwell

An opposition leader has been detained in Guinea after casting doubts on the health of President Lansana Conte.

Jean-Marie Dore was taken to an unknown destination after being questioned by police, his lawyers say.

He will be charged with "insulting the president" after telling French radio that Mr Conte, a diabetic, is too ill to contest elections on 21 December.

In 2001, Mr Conte, won a referendum to change the constitution so he can run for a third term in office.

Barely known

Mr Dore is a member of parliament and leader of the small Union for Progress in Guinea.

The UPG is part of an opposition alliance which is boycotting next month's poll, saying that it will not be free and fair.

The only challenger to Mr Cone is Mamadou Bhoye Barry, of the Union for National Progress party, is barely known - even among Guineans.

The European Union has announced that it will not finance or send election observers because of doubts over the conduct of the poll.

Mr Conte seized power in a 1984 coup and has since won two contested polls.

The main opposition parties have warned of civil unrest and the danger of the country slipping into the kind of conflicts seen in neighbouring countries like Liberia and Ivory Coast.