Exiled former Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment.
Soro, who is also a one-time Speaker of the National Assembly, was found guilty of planning a coup, with specific charges including conspiracy and attempt to attack the authority of the state.
He had laced his boots to contest in 2020 presidential elections after resigning from his parliamentary post.
He was however blocked by the government from returning to the country after the conclusion of a tour of Europe to rally support for his presidential ambition.
The 49-year-old’s trial was held in absentia since he was in exile. It lasted through May 2021 till today’s verdict was delivered.
He was jailed along with some twenty other supporters.
Soro was once an ally of President Allassane Ouattara. He commanded a rebel force that backed the current president in his fight against President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to accept he had lost the 2010 elections.
