Ivory Coast sentences ex-PM Guillaume Soro to life imprisonment

Former rebel chief, in exile in Europe, gets life in absentia on coup-plotting charges against President Ouattara.

A court in Ivory Coast has sentenced former rebel leader and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro to life imprisonment in absentia on charges of plotting a coup against President Alassane Ouattara in late 2019. The verdict on Wednesday came after 49-year-old Soro, who has been in exile in Europe for about two years, was charged with conspiracy and an attempted attack on state authority. His lawyers have previously condemned the charges as politically motivated and said there was no evidence to show he was guilty.