"Senegalese authorities have released four suspects accused of plotting the overthrow of President Abdoulaye Wade, saying there was not enough evidence to hold them.
Government spokesman Moustapha Guirassy said Tuesday a preliminary investigation did not result in “certain proof” that the suspects had been planning a coup. Guirassy said the suspects were released Monday night, though he said the case was not yet closed.
Justice Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy had said on state television Saturday the suspects wanted to target sites, including a busy market in downtown Dakar.
The announcement came shortly before several thousand people protested in Dakar against President Wade and poor living conditions. Many protesters said the government's accusations of a coup plot were aimed at undercutting the demonstrations.
The protest came on the 11th anniversary of Mr. Wade's rise to power and was held in Dakar's central Independence Square. Protest organizers dubbed the site Senegal's “Tahrir Square,” the main location of Egypt's anti-government uprising last month.
Senegal prides itself as one of the most stable democratic countries in West Africa, but rising food prices, high unemployment and daily power outages in Dakar have frustrated and angered many former supporters of the president.
Some are also uneasy over President Wade's decision to stand for a third term in elections next year when he will be 85, as well as his handing of several important government posts to his son, Karim Wade.
President Wade's election 11 years ago ended four decades of post-independence rule by the Senegalese Socialist Party. He was re-elected in 2007.
Mr. Wade has declared he has made no mistakes during his tenure.
"
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/03/22/senegal-releases-alleged-coup-plotters/
