Mali: Court ends trial of former coup leader Sanogo

The court did not issue a verdict and ended proceedings against 15 other defendants.

A court in the Malian capital Bamako has ended a much-delayed trial of former coup leader Amadou Sanogo who was accused of killing 21 elite soldiers in a 2012 coup. The court, which did not issue a verdict, also ended proceedings against 15 other defendants, citing a 2019 reconciliation law offering amnesty or pardon for specific crimes committed during the 2012 crisis. Sanogo, a former army captain, and several others staged a military coup against President Amadou Toumani Toure after a rebellion emerged in the country’s north. But the military government, led by Sanogo, stepped aside under international pressure after critical northern cities such as Timbuktu and Gao fell to the rebels.