Côte d'Ivoire: Soro's lawyers request postponement of the hearing on April 28

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Guillaume Soro, the former president of the National Assembly exiled in France since the end of December, should be tried on Tuesday April 28 at the Abidjan criminal court. Last week, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights demanded that the Ivorian state suspend the arrest warrant. Sunday, Guillaume Soro's lawyers asked the authorities to respect the decision of the African Court and to suspend the trial.

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With our correspondent in Abidjan, Sidy Yansané

"  An attempt at political execution.  "It is in these terms that the lawyers of Guillaume Soro define the trial of their client who is to be held Tuesday at the Criminal Court of Abidjan.

In the press release, legal advisers to the former President of the National Assembly and declared candidate for the presidential election next October , believe that this hearing has only one objective: to make their client ineligible. While specifying that the procedure violates all the rules of law. And therefore they will not attend the trial.

Joined by RFI, Me Affoussy Bamba declares that this hearing must be postponed, as required by the judgment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, made public last week, pending its decision on the merits of the case.

The trial must deal with part of the accusations, those of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering, which Guillaume Soro has always rejected. For lawyers of the Ivorian State , the decision of the African Court is only provisional and does not prevent the holding of the hearing. Although the court gave the authorities thirty days to execute its judgment.

The former rebel leader, accused by the Ivorian state of attempting to attack state authority, embezzlement of public property and money laundering, has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since the December 23.

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• Ivory Coast
• Justice
• Guillaume Soro

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