Six jailed in connection with coup plot

Six men were jailed for terms of up to 20 years on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt in early 2001 in Cote d'Ivoire. Seven others were acquitted, the pro-state Fraternite Matin daily reported.

At the end of the three-week long court case, four of the accused were found guilty of taking part in the alleged 7-8 January plot to overthrow President Laurent Gbagbo's government and of being part of an armed group. Each received a 20-year sentence. Two others were given three-year jail terms for the illegal possession of firearms, the newspaper said.

During the attempted coup, overnight attacks were simultaneously launched against the state-owned radio and television stations, the country's largest gendarme camp and Gbagbo's home. Two gendarmes were killed and several others wounded. Detractors of the opposition Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR) party accused it of being behind the attacks.

Defence lawyers said that the trial was politically motivated and perpetuated the tension between the government and the mainly Muslim, northern-based opposition party, news organisations reported.

The reported coup attempt had been the latest in a long line of political upheavals that beset Cote d'Ivoire since December 1999, when then president Henri Konan Bedie was overthrown in the country's first successful military coup. The coup brought a former army chief of staff, General Robert Guei, to power.

Presidential elections in October 2000 were marked by violent street protests between supporters of Guei's junta, opposition members and the security forces. Guei, who declared himself head of state, was forced out by demonstrations, allowing Gbagbo, the real winner of the elections, to be sworn in.