Gabon: alain claude bilie by nze’s lawyers challenge detention based on old dispute
Currently detained since April 15, former Gabonese Prime Minister and prominent opposition figure, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, has now spent over 100 days in custody. His legal counsel contends that the charges brought against him stem from a financial disagreement dating back to 2008 and emphatically denounce the procedural irregularities surrounding his incarceration.
Lawyers representing Alain Claude Bilie By Nze assert that their client has been held for more than three months in connection with a long-standing private dispute. In a recent statement, they argue that this disagreement, involving approximately 7,600 euros and originating in 2008, has been improperly used to justify his arrest. According to the Ensemble pour le Gabon party, the former head of government faces charges of fraud and breach of trust. Prior to the August 2023 coup d’état led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze served as Prime Minister. He subsequently ran in the presidential election, which General Oligui Nguema won, but was unable to overturn the results.
Criticism mounts over detention conditions and legal process
The opposition leader’s legal team reports that he is being held in a five-square-meter cell, completely devoid of natural light, within a Libreville correctional facility. They also highlight a period of 100 days of solitary confinement, which they describe as “political and arbitrary.” Furthermore, the defense maintains that it has never been granted access to the procedural file. Reportedly, the investigating judge stated that he no longer possessed the relevant documents. A request filed by the lawyers to annul the proceedings was rejected by the Libreville Court of Appeal on June 2. “A man is being held on the basis of a file that his defense has never been permitted to examine,” declared lawyer Arthur Vercken in the statement released by the defense team. The August 2023 coup brought an end to over five decades of power held by the Bongo family. Brice Oligui Nguema was subsequently elected president in a vote presented by the new authorities as a step towards restoring civilian governance. Alain Claude Bilie By Nze’s detention unfolds amidst a political climate characterized by significant institutional reorganization following this transition.
