The Beninese public prosecution requires ten years' imprisonment for Joël Aïvo. A worrying signal sent a few days before the trial of Reckya Madougou.
In Benin, the hunt for opponents is now being played out in the courts. This Monday, December 6 took place the trial of Joël Aïvo and two of the co-defendants, prosecuted for money laundering but above all for conspiracy against the authority of the State. The hearing took place throughout the day. At the end of it, in the morning, the requisition pronounced by the public prosecutor did not do in detail: Aïvo and his two co-defendants risk a ten-year prison sentence as well as a fine of 45 million CFA francs (approximately 77 euros).
The fate of the opponents, Joël Aïvo and Reckya Madougou in the lead, did not bode well. Both prosecuted by the Court for the repression of economic offenses and terrorism (CRIET), they are accused of the most serious of qualifications: threat to state security. A blow for the opponents of Patrice Talon. Especially for Reckya Madougou, whose trial is scheduled for December 10.
Ex-Keeper of the Seals, the opponent hoped to run for the post of President of the Republic in the last election, on behalf of the Democrats party. After having excluded the opposition, Patrice Talon launched a great wave of repression against his opponents. If some were forced into exile, for others, they were imprisoned and entrusted to CRIET, whose independence of judges remains difficult to prove.
The defense of constitutionalist Joël Aïvo said it was dismayed by the requisition. “It is no longer even worthwhile to come and plead before this court which is nothing but a fantasy. It's folklore. I am disappointed for my country. It is regrettable for a State of law ", denounces his lawyer who assures that it is about" a dark period in the history of our country ".
《And you will know that I am the Lord your God》 Joel 3:17
《Is not Allah the Wisest of Judges? 》 Sura 95: 8
I am with you today, Joël, my brother.
Reckya Madougou#FreeReckya#FreeJoel pic.twitter.com/lPW7mCDyw7
- Reckya MADOUGOU (@MadougouReckya) December 6, 2021
Justice under the orders of Patrice Talon
Regarding Reckya Madougou, his lawyers have always considered that the file was, as for Joël Aïvo, completely empty. His entourage denounces "unfair trials in Benin" and "justice under the orders" of Patrice Talon. Remained dignified, according to someone close to the case, Reckya Madougou would have refused to be released for health issues and would not wish to be forced into exile. The opponent wants to show that she is a prisoner of conscience.
But the hearing on December 10 may be against him. The defense of Aïvo affirms that the requisitions are not based on any facts: “They sought proof, they did not find it. The real situation is that two poor people who were in dire straits decided to swindle someone. This person who is on the run and who may have been sent by the authorities to trap the candidate Aïvo ”. The same scenario is expected for Reckya Madougou, the only woman to have tried to oppose Patrice Talon.
This arbitrary detention, denounced internationally, frightens the entourage of Reckya Madougou: people close to the case say that the deputies involved have never been heard by justice. As for the protagonists of the case, some are absent subscribers. The partiality of CRIET, denounced in particular by the former magistrate of the jurisdiction, Essowé Batamoussi, means that we now probably know the outcome of this parody of the trial.