A detention in Gabon, a complaint in France. The lawyers of Sylvia Bongo, Franco-Gabonese wife of President Ali Bongo Ondimba placed under house arrest by soldiers after his dismissal on Wednesday following a coup d’etat, filed a complaint in Paris on Friday for arbitrary detention, announced these two lawyers François Zimeray and Jessica Finelle.
“Madame Valentin, wife Bongo, has been deprived of her liberty since the putsch of August 30, 2023, as has her youngest son Jalil”, underline the two lawyers in a press release, before specifying that their client is “detained in an undetermined place in Gabon, which could be his residence. »
Lawyers hope for an international arrest warrant against the perpetrators of the kidnapping
“No political consideration justifies this violence and this secrecy outside any legal framework, we are concerned for their health and safety”, insist the two councils, which “require” the authorization of “consular visits for the family and especially for Nourredin Bongo Valentin, who could be the victim of enforced disappearance. The two lawyers filed a simple complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office, mainly targeting the crimes of enforced disappearance and kidnapping by public officials.
The French nationality of Sylvia Bongo gives jurisdiction to French justice for a possible investigation into these facts. “This procedure could lead to the issuance of an international arrest warrant against the perpetrators of these facts, who incur life imprisonment”, hope the advice.
Putschist soldiers announced on Wednesday that they had put an “end to the regime in place” in Gabon and had placed the president in power for 14 years under house arrest, just after the official announcement of his victory in the presidential election organized on Saturday. The former First Lady, Franco-Gabonese, was regularly the target, with her son Noureddin, of accusations from the opposition, civil society and certain local media when they claimed that, since his stroke, Ali Bongo was very weakened by his after-effects and “manipulated” by some of his “relatives”.