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Ex defence minister back on trial for alleged coup plot

    BANGUI

    The trial of CAR former defence minister Jean-Jacques Demafouth - which was suspended in March due to a boycott by his defence counsels - resumed on Tuesday. However, it was temporarily suspended due to the alleged failure of the prosecutor to provide a number of documents to the defence team.

    The defence counsels have also demanded a copy of the tape which allegedly contains a recording of a conversation between Demafouth and Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba regarding a planned coup attempt in the Central African Republic (CAR).

    The court president, Zacharie N'douba, demanded that both the missing documents and the tape be provided to the defence, at which point the trial would continue.

    Demafouth was arrested in August 2001 on suspicion of planning a coup with the help of Bemba. The prosecutor's office contends that the coup attempt failed because former president Andre Kolingba was first to launch a failed coup on 28 May 2001.

    During the preliminary court session, Demafouth denied his involvement in any coup plot and proclaimed his loyalty to CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse. He accused Patasse's entourage of being behind his arrest.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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