Life imprisonment requested for Conde

The state prosecutor in the trial of Guinean opposition leader Alpha Conde has requested a term of life imprisonment. "Now we're just waiting for what the defence will say next Wednesday," Sekou Coumbassa, a spokesman for Conde's Rassemblement du Peuple de Guinee (RPG) party, told IRIN Thursday.

Conde and 47 others are on trial for sedition. The state prosecutor said on Wednesday that the RPG leader and four of his co-accused were guilty of "threatening the state's authority and territorial integrity", AFP reported. Two of the accused are fugitives. The prosecutor said such crimes were punishable by the lesser term of 10 to 20 years in jail only if the court found there were extenuating circumstances. Another group of defendants, mostly soldiers, should receive life imprisonment for "illegally using armed force", the prosecutor said.

The trial was adjourned until 23 August after the defence asked for time to prepare its case. Conde, a parliamentarian, has been in jail since his arrest on 15 December 1998 near the Ivoirian border, a day after the presidential election in which he emerged as the third choice candidate.

"It's a parody of justice. It's a political trial," said Coumbassa.

Conde and his co-defendants have been charged with "endangering the state", assaulting law enforcement officers and fraudulently transferring foreign exchange. The trial, which began on 12 April, is being witnessed by several international observers.