Certainly one of Boubou Cisse’s legal professionals mentioned the previous chief ‘is within the capital Bamako in a protected place’.
Attorneys for Malian former Prime Minister Boubou Cisse denied he was on the run, after a public prosecutor advised he had fled costs of plotting to overthrow the army-dominated interim authorities.
The general public prosecutor within the capital Bamako mentioned on December 31 that seven folks, together with Cisse, had been underneath investigation for “plotting in opposition to the federal government, felony affiliation, insulting the pinnacle of state and complicity”.
5 of these individuals are at present in custody however the prosecutor mentioned that Cisse, the final prime minister earlier than the August army coup, was “untraceable”.
Marcel Ceccaldi, one in all Cisse’s legal professionals, nonetheless, advised a information convention on Friday that Cisse “is in Bamako in a protected place”.
One other of his legal professionals, Kassoum Tapo, added that Cisse is “not on the run”.
Cisse denied the accusations in opposition to him this week in an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and confirmed that he was in Mali however didn’t provide additional particulars of his whereabouts.
The previous prime minister added that brokers visited his residence whereas he was away in late December and assaulted folks inside, pushing him to take “shelter”.
Cisse mentioned he has not been formally charged, since he by no means acquired a courtroom summons.
“If they’d merely summoned me in due type, clearly I might have come to reply the questions,” he mentioned.
Military officers within the conflict-ridden Sahel state toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18 after weeks of anti-government protests over the nation’s armed rebel, financial struggles and continual interethnic violence.
Below the specter of worldwide sanctions, the officers between September and October handed energy to an interim authorities, which is supposed to rule for 18 months earlier than staging elections.
Mali’s interim authorities is headed by transitional President Bah Ndaw, who served as defence minister from 2014 to 2015 and held a number of different army positions, with Assimi Goita serving as vp.
Regardless of an initially heat reception, many Malians are rising disenchanted with the interim authorities, which is dominated by military figures.
Particulars of the accusations in opposition to the seven alleged coup plotters, together with Cisse, stay unclear.
The legal professionals on Friday mentioned that the proceedings in opposition to them are primarily based on a secret-service report back to which they don’t have entry.