Ending repression must be condition for IMF deal -Congo opposition figure's lawyers

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Lawyers for jailed Congo Republic opposition figure Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko called on the International Monetary Fund to make ending political repression a condition for the approval of a pending bailout for the debt-crippled oil producer.

Mokoko, a former army chief who ran as a candidate in a 2016 presidential election, was jailed for 20 years earlier this month after his conviction on charges he sought to topple the government of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso.

(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Catherine Evans)