Gabon's former first lady and her son sentenced to 20 years for corruption
A Gabon court on Wednesday sentenced the former first lady and son of the country's deposed leader Ali Bongo to 20 years in prison following a two-day graft trial, Reuters reported.
Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Noureddin Bongo, 33, both tried in absentia, were found guilty of embezzlement of public funds, among other charges.
The Bongo family ruled the oil-rich, central African country for 55 years.
The wife of Ali Bongo had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers' money. She denied all charges.
Her son and co-defendant, Noureddin, criticised the trial as a "legal farce" in an interview with AFP last week.
And on Wednesday, Noureddin condemned the verdict as "based on the testimony of witnesses coerced".
This was a "political conviction", he added, from "a justice system that takes orders from the executive branch", denying the accusations against him.
Ex-president Ali Bongo was toppled in a coup on August 30, 2023, which brought Brice Oligui Nguema to power. The deposed leader is not facing prosecution.
Bongo ruled for 14 years and was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.
He had succeeded his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled Gabon for nearly 42 years until his death in 2009.
Ali Bongo's wife and son, who both hold French citizenship, were accused of exploiting the former leader, who suffered a serious stroke in 2018, to effectively run Gabon for their own personal profit.
Arrested after the coup, they were detained in the country for 20 months before being released in May and allowed to leave the country for London, officially on medical grounds.
Both allege they suffered torture during their detention.
Ten former allies of the Bongos are also on trial, accused of complicity in the embezzlement of public funds. Proceedings are expected to continue until Friday.
Prosecutor Eddy Minang said that statements by the co-accused and witnesses during the trial revealed a system of diverting public funds "for the benefit of private interests".
In May last year, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo filed a lawsuit in France alleging that they were "repeatedly and violently tortured" while in detention.
"We know full well that if we go back, we will suffer things far worse than we have already suffered," Noureddin Bongo told AFP ahead of the trial.
He said his Gabonese lawyer would also not attend the hearing to avoid "justifying... a legal farce".
"We are not opposed to the idea of being held accountable for so-called acts we may have committed," Bongo insisted.
"But only if it is before an independent and genuine court of law, not one that is clearly under the orders of the executive branch in Gabon," he told AFP.
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