Malagasy justice condemned, on December 17, 2021, the French Paul Rafanoharana and Philippe François has respectively 10 and 20 years of hard labor for their participation in an alleged coup against theMadagascan President Andry Rajoelina.
LThe prosecution had requested life imprisonment for the two nationals fFrench, as well as for two other defendants, also condemned to forced labor: five years for the wife of Paul Rafanoharana, Voahangy Andrianandrianina, and 10 years for Aina Razafindrakoto, the former business associate of the former colonel Philippe François. Likewise, former Prime Minister Victor Ramahatra, 76 years old and whose prosecution had also requested life imprisonment, received a five-year suspended sentence. Also implicated, the companion of Philippe François, Brigitte Mroczek was released for the benefit of the doubt.
Arrested in July and suspected of an operation under the code name “Apollo 21”, the two Frenchmen are part of the twenty people tried for ten days for endangering state security, criminal association and conspiracy in sight. to assassinate the president.
Among them, we find the Malagasy singer Yvon Sareraka and five Malagasy gendarmes. These members of the special forces, who denied everything, are suspected of having been recruited to form a commando in order to carry out the putsch.
According to the Advocate General, Arsène Rabe, the defendants belonged to “a criminal organization” seeking to “to commit an attack against President Rajoelina”, and helped to set up the project “thanks to emails, weapons and money, seized” during searches.
Paul Rafanoharana is considered the mastermind of history. The Franco-Malagasy was the diplomatic adviser until 2011 of Andry Rajoelina, and former mayor of the capital. During the trial, he admitted the existence of a letter, in which he demanded ten million euros from the CEO of Benchmark, who has invested in the exploitation of oil on the island, for “guarantee the overthrow of the regime in place”. In exchange, the company had guaranteed access to a deposit. “It is not a crime to have thought of neutralizing the mafia around the president“, he defended himself in court, evoking”a purely intellectual reflection “ on political change.
Former colonel of the French army who graduated from the prestigious military school of St-Cyr and became director of an investment company in Madagascar, Philippe François is suspected of having concealed the illegal activities of the “Apollo 21” project through his company screen. “I never thought of attempting the life of the president “, he told the judges, but he admitted having been aware of Paul Rafanoharana’s project in which he refused to take part.
“We will appeal to cassation”, reacted to the announcement of the verdict Me Solo Radson, lawyer for Paul Rafanoharana, denouncing “an unfair verdict”, a “empty folder” and “a political trial”. In August, President Rajoelina questioned France’s possible involvement in the plot. Paris did not speak on the case.