The wife and son of Gabon’s former President Ali Bongo Ondimba have been transferred from prison to house arrest, according to sources cited by Reuters.
Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Nourredin Bongo, 33, were taken into custody shortly after Ali Bongo was toppled in a military coup more than a year and a half ago.
The transfer to house arrest, where they have been reunited with Ali Bongo, came on May 9 after pressure from African Union officials for their release. Prior to this, they had been held in basement cells in the presidential palace in Libreville. The family was hospitalized on May 1 after staging a hunger strike, one source revealed.
Sylvia Bongo and Nourredin Bongo face allegations of crimes including embezzlement and money laundering. Their supporters claim they were tortured in custody, which President Brice Oligui Nguema denied in an interview with Radio France Internationale in March. Nguema stated that their trials would proceed as planned.
Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, a former prime minister under Bongo who ran against Nguema in the election, commented on the development:
“This house arrest, which their lawyers have long been calling for, cannot be seen as clemency on the part of a government that has violated all the rights of the defence for more than 20 months. However, it is to be hoped that the trial, if it takes place, will respect all the legal guarantees of impartiality, fairness and transparency.”
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council lifted Gabon’s suspension, imposed after the coup, in a meeting on April 30. The council called for the immediate release of Ali Bongo’s family and guarantees that their rights and health would be protected