Libreville – Six soldiers in the tiny West African state of Sao Tome and Principe have been placed in custody on charges of murder and torture arising from an attempted coup last month, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Their arrest followed remarks by Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, who said that after the army thwarted the November 24 coup, “extrajudicial executions” were carried out.
In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office said nine people, including six soldiers, had been “provisionally detained” and charged with murder and torture.
Seventeen other people are also being held but on lesser charges, it said.
The turbulent episode has rocked the island nation’s reputation for stability.
On November 25, Trovoada said four people had been arrested after a six-hour gun battle at military headquarters.
Two other people, described by those detained as the “sponsors” of the attempted coup, were later arrested, he said.
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They were opposition leader Delfim Neves, who is the outgoing speaker of the National Assembly, and a former mercenary and opposition figure named Arlecio Costa.
But two days afterwards, the armed forces chief of staff said three of the detainees had died of injuries following an “explosion”, as well as Costa, who had died after he “jumped from a vehicle.”
Twelve soldiers who “took part” in the attempted coup had also been arrested, the chief of staff said.
On a visit to former colonial power Portugal earlier this month, Trovoada said “extrajudicial executions, the execution of people who were key witnesses” apparently occurred hours after the army stopped the coup.
Images have circulated on social media purportedly showing several detainees being tortured by men in uniform.
Prosecutors are carrying out two inquiries, investigating the would-be putsch as well as “deaths which occurred within military installations.”
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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