Trial of alleged coup plotters postponed

The trial on Wednesday of 31 people accused of participating in the failed coup of January has been postponed until 13 May because the state needs to update its jury list, Cote d'Ivoire's Justice Ministry announced.

Chief of Staff Andre Meledje said on Tuesday his ministry realised "at the last moment" that the potential jury list was outdated and that its use would be in violation of the penal code. "The formality of updating the jury list had not been completed but is being done," he said in a report by the state-owned Fraternite Matin newspaper.

The coup suspects - civilians and soldiers - have been charged with "threatening state authority and belonging to an armed gang". The charges relate to an armed attacked on 8 January on the national TV station in Abidjan, President Laurent Gbagbo's home, and the country's largest gendarmerie base. By mid-day, the government announced it had foiled the coup and accused neighbouring countries as having supported the plotters.

An 11-member team of lawyers for the accused will take on an eight-member prosecution team. Judge Deli Sepleu will head the trial, which will be public. He also presided over the trial of the eight gendarmes accused of killing some 57 people during election violence of October 2000.