Jailed ex-president returns home from medical treatment

Former Malian president Moussa Traore, who has been serving a life sentence since being overthrown nearly a decade ago, returned home on Sunday after receiving medical treatment in Algeria, AFP reported. Traore, 64, was accompanied by his wife, Mariam. He had been flown to Algeria earlier this month for treatment of a back problem, while his wife had been in Algiers since May for unspecified health reasons. Traore, who seized power in 1968, was overthrown in 1991 following a clash between security forces and pro-democracy demonstrators that left 150 people dead. About 60 senior government officials were executed. Traore and his wife initially received death sentences for embezzlement and “crimes of bloodshed” but Mali’s current president, Alpha Oumar Konare, commuted the sentences to life terms last year.