On Monday, the leader of Seychelles' biggest opposition party was indicted as part of an investigation into alleged witchcraft.
the leader of the United Seychelles party who has stated his intention to compete for president in 2025, has condemned the decision as politically driven.
Herminie, a former parliament speaker, was arrested at his party's headquarters on Friday, and his office was searched before he was freed.
He was formally accused alongside seven other people in the Seychelles magistrates' court as part of an investigation into "witchcraft" and "unnatural and superstitious" practices.
"This is a political show by the president (Wavel Ramkalawan) to eliminate those who he knows will remove him from power in the 2025 elections," Herminie was reported as saying after his arrest on Friday by the Seychelles News Agency.
Prosecutors said Herminie's name was discovered in a WhatsApp message exchange with a Tanzanian man who was detained in September allegedly possessing witchcraft-related items such as black wooden artifacts, small bottles of brownish liquid, and documents containing satanic language and symbols.
The probe is linked to the August discovery of the dug-up bodies of an old woman and a young man in a cemetery on the main island of Mahe.
Prosecutors also stated that symbols on the documents found in the Tanzanian's possession were similar to those found at vandalized Seychelles locations, such as Catholic churches.
Herminie and the other Seychellois accused were released on bail of 30,000 Seychelles rupees (about $2,200), while the Tanzanian was ordered to remain in police custody.
On November 3, a new hearing on the matter is scheduled.
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