Military Court Acquits 8 Officers in Massacre
A military court acquitted eight paramilitary police officers charged in an October massacre in a case that was being viewed as a crucial test of justice in troubled Ivory Coast.
Judge Delli Sepleu ruled that prosecutors failed to produce any evidence directly linking the eight men to the 57 bodies found Oct. 27 on the outskirts of Abidjan after election violence.
The opposition denounced the trial as a sham.
The paramilitary police had supported President Laurent Gbagbo in his struggle for the presidency in October. Some officers had threatened to revolt if their colleagues were found guilty.
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