By RFIPalled on 18-09-2019Modified on 18-09-2019 at 22:06

A new application for provisional release for Amadou Sanogo was rejected by the Malian Supreme Court on Monday (September 16th). In prison for six years, the soldier is accused alongside 16 fellow detainees of kidnapping and murder and complicity in kidnappings and assassinations.

November 30, 2016 was the long awaited trial of Captain Sanogo . The former head of the military junta is not being judged for his attempted coup, but for the kidnapping and murder of some 20 Malian soldiers the day in April 2012, the red berets had tried to thwart the coup d'état .

Since the opening of this judgment, returned the same day, nothing . " We are going illegal illegally in this case, " says master Mariam Diawara, one of the lawyers of Amadou Sanogo. " Already the time of his detention is illegal, it can not exceed three years. Then, the delay between the referral and the resumption of the trial is not reasonable, "he continues.

A political affair?

For Issa Ndiaye, political scientist at the University of Bamako, " in the state of things, it is impossible to judge Sanogo because it would have too many implications and too many consequences ". According to him, a new trial could throw light on issues that the Malian government would prefer to remain in the shadows. " It seems that Sanogo has files (...) so everyone has an interest in there being a compromise and an amicable treatment of this file to get out ."

► See also: Coup d'état in Mali: the story of the minute-by-minute coup

The defense, which was denied Monday a new application for provisional release for his client and 16 other defendants, still hopes for a quick release. In total, a dozen requests have been filed by the lawyers of the former head of the military junta since his incarceration six years ago. The captain became general is still held in Sélingué, more than 100 km from the capital Bamako.

There are political pressures. On one side of the red beret clan who are really demanding justice and on the other side also of the clan of the green berets who also on their side have had dead. This conflict must be resolved between two military groups that influence the state apparatus.

Issa Ndiaye, political scientist at the University of Bamako

18-09-2019 - By Coralie Pierret

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