A special court in Benin has sentenced one of the country’s opposition figures, Joel Aivo, to 10 years in prison after a trial on treason and corruption charges.
According to foreign news sources, Aivo, who had been held for eight months, had said the charges of plotting against the state and money laundering were politically motivated, but was however, convicted after a more than 16-hour trial.
Several opposition leaders were detained before or just after the April 11 election that saw Benin President Patrice Talon win a second term with more than 86 percent of the vote.
Aivo, one of the opposition figures who was barred from running in the presidential election, had pleaded not guilty when the trial opened Monday, 6th December.
Arrested on April 15, Aivo was tried at the Economic Crime and Terrorism Court (CRIET) in the West African country’s administrative capital, Porto-Novo.
The special court, CRIET, that was set up in 2016 has often been accused by critics of serving as a tool by Talon’s regime to crack down on the opposition.
