Dr Sylvia Blyden, a leading member of the main opposition All People's Congress (APC) is back in jail in Freetown after her bail was revoked.
Blyden is an activist and commentator who served as minister of social welfare, gender and children's affairs and special executive assistant to Sierra Leone's former president, Ernest Bai Koroma, who left office in 2018.
He was succeeded by Julius Maada Bio, a retired Brigadier General, the candidate of the Sierra Leone People's Party, who defeated the ruling APC candidate in the closely contested 2018 election.
Supporters say Blyden's posts while she was out on bail had no bearing on the charges against her and question whether Sierra Leone has a law that prevents a person from exercising freedom of expression on social media, while facing charges in court.
"The arbitrary arrest and the subsequent detention of Dr Blyden were connected to trumped-up charges brought against her by the government after she called on Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio to respect democracy, human rights, and to take more appropriate measures to tackle COVID 19, in the public interest," a group of #FreeDrBlyden supporters said in a lengthy statement issued during a press briefing in Freetown last week.
