A court in Cameroon on Friday charged opposition leader Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) with "rebellion" against the state, according to lawyers of the CRM.

Kamto and 35 other members of CRM appeared before the Yaounde Court of First Instance where the charges were read.

"Other charges include conspiracy against the republic, complicity and illegal groupings and public disorder," lead counsel, barrister Emmanuel Sim told Xinhua.

Hearing lasted for about an hour and was adjourned to March 15.

Kamto has been detained at the Judicial Police in Yaounde since his arrest on Monday.

He was arrested alongside 117 party members after they organized protests to denounce what they called "electoral hold up" and "useless war in Anglophone regions."

Cameroon's Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman Rene Sadi said the demonstration was illegal and was intended to "destabilize Cameroon under the false pretext of an alleged electoral hold up."

Cameroon's President Paul Biya was declared the winner with 71.28 percent of the vote in the Oct. 7 presidential election, but Kamto claimed that he won the vote, while official results showed he emerged as a distant second with 14.23 percent of the vote.

Kamto has since then announced what he called a "national resistance program" to compel Biya to step down.

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