Côte d'Ivoire: life imprisonment required against four accused of the Grand-Bassam attack
The four defendants present at the trial of the Grand-Bassam attack in Ivory Coast, November 30, 2022. © SIA KAMBOU / AFP
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Life imprisonment was requested Wednesday, December 21, 2022 in Abidjan against four accused of the jihadist attack in the Ivorian seaside town of Grand-Bassam, which killed 19 people in March 2016. The attack had been claimed by AQMI.
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From our correspondent in Abidjan,
Bineta Diagne
During the 7th day of hearing of the trial of the alleged perpetrators of
the Grand-Bassam attack
, which took place on March 13, 2016, the prosecutor Richard Adou requested life imprisonment against the alleged masterminds of the attack and against four defendants who attended the trial, for the acts of assassination.
The prosecutor requested an "
exemplary and dissuasive sentence
", because it is necessary, he said, "
to discourage anyone from lending themselves to this kind of act, to kill innocent people
".
Same state of mind, expressed by a lawyer for the civil parties who asked the court to apply “
the severity of the law, to set an example
”
.
A little earlier, the court had heard a last witness.
This senior gendarmerie officer, General Ali Badara, recounted how his unit retaliated against the terrorists on March 13, 2016. His team had intervened in reinforcement of the special forces and had shot down one of the assailants on the beach.
►To listen also: Guest Africa - George Philippe Ezalay: "A terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam was unimaginable"
Debates around the role of security units
The debates mainly focused on the degree of preparation of the security forces.
"
We were on alert
," said the official.
“
We were well prepared
” for a possible attack, he underlines.
The defense lawyers multiplied the questions on the role of each unit that intervened that day: “
Which unit was the closest
?
Why did the Grand Bassam gendarmerie unit not intervene
?
What was the state of intelligence in 2016
?
Pedagogue, the witness answers each question.
“
This is not the trial of the police, but of the terrorists
”, ends up recalling the president of the court.
In all, eighteen people are notably prosecuted for
“murder, attempted murder and acts of terrorism
”.
Since the beginning of the trial, only four people, Hantao Ag Mohamed Cissé, Sidi Mohamed Kounta, Mohamed Cissé and Hassan Barry, are physically present.
They are particularly suspected of having been accomplices in this attack, helping the brains of the operation in the identification in particular, which they deny.
During this attack, nineteen civilians and three soldiers lost their lives.
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