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Three soldiers behind a failed coup in Gabon in 2019 were sentenced to 15 years in prison, the prosecutor told AFP on Thursday.
The three men, including Lt. Kelly Ondo Obiang who was a member of the elite Republican Guard, appeared on state television in January 2019 calling for a “public uprising” during the short-lived coup.
Five police officers and a civilian who were on trial alongside them were acquitted, the prosecutor said, adding that the verdict was delivered overnight.
The defendants risked life imprisonment if found guilty.
“My clients are happy, they made a sign of victory to those present,” one of their lawyers, Jean-Pierre Moumbembe, told AFP, adding that he had appealed the verdict.
Renegade soldiers launched a coup on January 7, 2019, when longtime President Ali Bongo Ondimba was outside the country recovering from a stroke.
Bongo, who has ruled the oil-rich equatorial country for more than a decade, suffered a stroke in October 2018 while in Saudi Arabia and was hospitalized in Riyadh.
Gabon. By Simon MALFATTO, Paz PIZARRO (AFP) His supporters rejected the brief coup attempt that challenged an elected family presidency that ruled for more than 50 years.
Bongo succeeded his father Omar Bongo Ondimba, head of state from 1967 until his death in 2009.
The nine defendants were tried on June 18 for “endangering the internal security of the State” and risked life imprisonment.
According to their lawyers, they wanted to prevent the president’s brother, Frédéric Bongo, from seizing power by force and were particularly concerned about the presence of “mercenaries” in the country.
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