12 soldiers put on trial for coup plot after 11 months in jail

Twelve Guinean soldiers who were detained last year were put on trial this week on charges of plotting to overthrow President Lansana Conte. The government had not previously admitted holding the men who were arrested in late November and early December during the run-up to presidential elections on 21 December. Conte, a former army colonel who has ruled Guinea with a firm hand since coming to power in a 1984 coup, was returned virtually unopposed for a further seven-year term after all the main opposition parties boycotted the poll. Earlier this month, the government released on bail 10 civilians and two other military officers who had been arrested in the same pre-election security sweep after their relatives petitioned Justice Minister Mamadou Sylla. The government first admitted holding the 12 alleged coup plotters when they were charged in court on Monday, but the relatives of several of the men had let it known long ago they were being held in Conakry's PM3 prison. If convicted, the accused face a possible sentence of life imprisonment. According to local press reports, the group include Major Jean Fullah and Lieutenant Misbow Sow. State prosecutor Yayah Kiraba Kabbah was quoted by the state media as saying that the rights of the accused had not been violated since they had been able to see defence lawyers and it had taken more than 10 months to complete the pre-trial investigations. However, Hamidou Barry, a spokesman for the team of defence lawyers, refuted these claims. He pointed out that Guinean law only allows people to be held without charge for 48 hours and that the defence lawyers had only been allowed to see their clients at the last moment. "In 11 months we have not had access to our clients, nor the legal dossier relating to the crime they are alleged to have committed, nor to the accused in person," Barry protested.