Liberian Leader Says Coup Figures Will Be Tried Immediately
Politicians and soldiers detained in connection with last week’s attempted coup in Liberia will be put on trial immediately, the head of state, Samuel K. Doe, said Wednesday.
A statement broadcast by Liberian radio stations said politicians will be tried by civilian courts and soldiers by a special military tribunal. It did not name those charged.
Some of Liberia’s most prominent opposition figures were rounded up after the coup attempt. Senator-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former finance minister, was briefly detained, according to sources here in the Ivory Coast and in Monrovia.
Doe, who himself came to power in a coup five years ago, accused the main opposition Liberia Action Party of being involved in the plot. The group charges that the elections were rigged.
Doe has been under pressure from the United States, Liberia’s key aid donor, to treat those accused in the plot with moderation.
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