Côte d’Ivoire: Appeal Court upholds life imprisonment sentence against Guillaume Soro

The Court of Appeal of Abidjan has confirmed a previous condemnation to life imprisonment ruled in July 2021 against former Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament Guillaume Soro on charges of plot and attempt to remove the administration of President Alassan Ouattara.

The court, however, acquitted two of 11 other defendants and dissolved Générations et peuples solidaires (GPS), the party led by the former state official currently in exile in France.

The charges leveled against him according to the prosecution are connected to matters while his was Prime Minister (2005 to 2012) and Speaker of the Parliament (2012 to 2019).

The prosecution accused him of embezzling public funds while he was Prime Minister, and also convicted him for attempt to undermine the integrity of the territory in 2019, after announcing his candidacy for 2020 presidential elections.

He fled the country in 2019 after his plane was banned from landing. The justice issued subsequently an international arrest warrant against him.

Soro and other defendants can however appeal the Monday verdict and their defense has 15 days to lodge an appeal at the court of cassation.