The Economic Crime and Terrorism Court in Benin Republic has sentenced one of its foremost opposition Leaders and former Minister of Justice, Reckya Madougou to 20 years imprisonment for terrorism.
Reports indicate that the Court, after over 20 hours of hearings, found the former Minister of Justice guilty of “complicity in terrorist acts”.
“This court has deliberately decided to penalize an innocent person. I have never been and I will never be a terrorist,’’ Madougou, 47, said shortly before her prison sentence was announced
Madougou’s Lawyer, Antoine Vey, who is based in France, said; ‘’the procedure is nothing but a political attack. Even before her arrest, everything was orchestrated.’’
Recall that Madougou was arrested in March for funding an operation to allegedly assassinate some political figures in the country.
In April, she was banned from running in an election in which President Patrice Talon won a second term by amassing 96 percent of the vote.