LIBREVILLE: Gabon’s former first lady and her son were sentenced in absentia by a special criminal court to 20 years in prison following a two-day trial in Libreville. Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo Valentin were convicted of concealment and embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, criminal association and forgery. The court sentenced the duo late Tuesday, according to a judgment, and also issued an arrest warrant for them.

They were not in court and have described the charges against them as “a legal farce”.

The trial of the wife and son of ousted president Ali Bongo has revealed a vast embezzlement network involving enormous sums of money.

LIBREVILLE: Gabon’s former first lady and her son were sentenced in absentia by a special criminal court to 20 years in prison following a two-day trial in Libreville. Sylvia…