A Sierra Leonean court has charged 27 soldiers with multiple offences over an alleged attempted coup last November.
According to the country’s Defence Ministry statement, the charges include mutiny, failure to suppress mutiny, murder, aiding the enemy, communicating with the enemy, and other relevant offences.
In November, gunmen reportedly broke into a military armoury and several prisons in Freetown, freeing almost 2,000 inmates. The authorities described the incident as an attempt to “overthrow” the Sierra Leonean Government.
Last week, in connection with the same incident, former President, Ernest Bai Koroma, was charged with treason. He denied any involvement in the events, during which about 20 people were killed.
The authorities are also prosecuting one of Koroma’s former presidential bodyguards, alongside 11 former police and correctional officers.
They have been accused of treason, concealing treason and harbouring, aiding and abetting the enemy. Pre-trial proceedings against the 27 soldiers began in a court in the capital, Freetown, on Monday. The trial was adjourned to Wednesday.
The violence in November came five months after an election which saw present President, Julius Maada Bio, re-elected for a second term.
The results were rejected by the opposition and criticized by international observers for a lack of transparency.
