A "plot against the authority of the state". The Ivorian justice specified, Thursday, December 26, its accusations against Guillaume Soro. According to her, the ex-leader of the rebellion and presidential candidate of 2020 was preparing "a civil and military insurrection" to seize "incessantly" of power. Charges immediately swept aside by his defense.
The former president of the National Assembly (2012-2019), who was due to return to Côte d'Ivoire on Monday but who diverted his plane to return to Europe, was preparing a "plot" in two parts: first an operation of communication abroad to "bring the Ivorian regime into disrepute, then" a civil and military insurrection, "said the Abidjan public prosecutor Richard Adou during a press conference.
These accusations are based in particular on a sound recording made by the Ivorian intelligence services, according to the prosecutor, which was broadcast during the press conference. We hear two men talking, including Guillaume Soro. He did not specify where, when, or how it was carried out, taking refuge behind the secrecy of the investigation.
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"Conspiracy against state authority"
According to Richard Adou, weapons were also discovered during searches, the dates and locations of which he did not specify. "We have exceeded fifteen arrests" of accomplices of the former Prime Minister, said the prosecutor, who accuses them, like Guillaume Soro, now targeted by an international arrest warrant, of "conspiracy against the authority of the State ", a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
Among them, five pro-Soro deputies were arrested despite their parliamentary immunity, under a "flagrance" procedure, according to the prosecutor.
The defense of Guillaume Soro rejected all these "fallacious" accusations, criticizing an "ill-mounted spy operation by Abidjan", according to a statement by lawyer Affoussiata Bamba-Lamine published on his Facebook page Thursday.
A political "machination" for defense
Me Bamba-Lamine does not dispute the authenticity of the audio recording, but asserts that it "dates from 2017" and that it is "incomplete". In a previous statement Wednesday evening, she denounced a political "scheme" intended to "stray from the race" for the 2020 presidential election, Mr. Soro.
Long ally of President Alassane Ouattara, whom he helped bring to power during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, Guillaume Soro then fell out with him, until the break in early 2019, the head of the State wanting to curb its presidential ambitions, according to observers.
Until this affair, Guillaume Soro was seen as a serious challenger for the presidential election by political analysts, who said he was popular, especially among the youth.
With AFP
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