26 Activists from Opposition Party Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Activists from the opposition party of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo were sentenced on Thursday evening, March 9, to two years in prison for "disturbing public order" during a demonstration on February 24 in Abidjan. That day, 31 people were arrested and detained while demonstrating their support for the secretary general of the African Peoples' Party-Côte d'Ivoire (PPA-CI), Damana Pickass. The latter was summoned by an investigating judge for his alleged role in the attack on a barracks in Abidjan in 2021.

Twenty-seven of these protesters appeared on Thursday evening and all but one – acquitted – were sentenced to two years in prison. The prosecution had requested three years in prison. During the proceedings, one of the prosecutors considered that the accused had been guilty of disturbing public order, "even without violence" . She recalled that Mr. Pickass' summons was "personal" and that it should not have led to a gathering.