Mastermind of foiled Gambia coup jailed for 12 years

A junior navy officer named by The Gambia's government as the mastermind of a foiled coup plot in December last year has been found guilty of treason and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

A high court on Tuesday ruled that Lance Corporal Sanna Fadera planned and attempted to unlawfully overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow.

Authorities had charged Fadera and seven other soldiers with treason, conspiracy and inciting mutiny for their alleged role in the 2022 coup attempt.

The court acquitted three other military officers on Tuesday.

Another soldier has been on the run since the foiled coup attempt and is considered a fugitive.

The court also acquitted a police officer and two civilians who had been charged with concealing treason and conspiring to commit felony.

Before President Barrow came to power, the West African country was governed for two decades by Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in 1994, and foiled several attempts to overthrow him, before he lost the 2016 election.