The wife and son of Gabon’s former President Ali Bongo, Sylvia Bongo and Nourredin Bongo, have been transferred from prison to house arrest after being detained for over a year and a half.
The duo was taken into custody shortly after Ali Bongo was toppled in a military coup and were most recently held in basement cells in the presidential palace in Libreville.
Their transfer to house arrest came on May 9, following pressure from African Union officials for their release.
Prior to this, they had been hospitalized on May 1 after staging a hunger strike. Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Nourredin Bongo, 33, are accused of crimes including embezzlement and money laundering, allegations that their supporters deny, claiming they were tortured in custody.
In a recent development, President Brice Oligui Nguema, who was elected to a seven-year term with nearly 95% of the vote and sworn into office on May 3, denied allegations of torture and stated that their trials would proceed.
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council has called for the immediate release of Ali Bongo’s family and guarantees for their rights and health protection.
Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, a former prime minister under Bongo, expressed hope that the trial would respect legal guarantees of impartiality, fairness, and transparency if it takes place, but noted that the house arrest cannot be seen as clemency given the prolonged violation of their rights.
