Raymond Ranjeva, a former ICC Vice President, is accused of complicity in a 2010 army mutiny.
A former vice president of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, at The Hague in The Netherlands, Prof. Raymond Ranjeva yesterday went on trial in the Madagascar capital, Antananarivo for alleged involvement in a November 17, 2010 abortive army mutiny against Andry Rajoelina’s transitional government.
Documents implicating him in the attempted uprising were reportedly found in his home. According to Radio France Internationale, RFI, the mutiny took place in the Bani military barracks at Ivato on the outskirts of the capital. It was on the day of a constitutional referendum when the mutineers announced that they had suspended all State institutions. But following the collapse of the attempted uprising as other military bases failed to join in, the rebels were arrested a few days later.
Prof. Ranjeva, who has all along been free, was to appear in court yesterday alongside some of the suspected rebels and his daughter, Riana Ratsisalovanina, who is also accused of the same crime. A renowned international judge, Ranjeva is a learned man from an aristocratic background. The announcement of his trial has been raising a lot of eye brows in Madagascar with RFI reporting that a lot of messages in his support have been posted on the Internet and social networking sites. A mass was even held in his honour on Saturday March 17.
Justice Ranjeva’s supporters argue that the trial is part of efforts by the authorities to punish him for his recent political activities. A month ago, he organized a public discussion on finding solutions to the ongoing political crisis in the country. He recently co-authored a book on the 2009 coup d’état. According to the Africa Review website, the order to prosecute Justice Raymond Ranjeva was reportedly issued on March 1, a few days after the former ICJ judge and some activists said at a conference that they could offer a realistic solution to the political deadlock in the country.
As the trial opened yesterday, one of the key figures in the November 2009 army mutiny, Col. Charles Andrianasoavina, was still in hospital in neighbouring Réunion from where his deportation is still being awaited.
