The Beninese opponent, Joël Aïvo, faced the judge of the Court of Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (Criet). The trial opened this Thursday, July 15, 2021. In detention since 11 April, the day after the presidential election, the constitutional expert is being prosecuted for “undermining state security and money laundering.” Accusations that the opponent has always challenged despite his detention. The trial was postponed until August 5.
The trial of the opponent, Joël Aïvo, began on Thursday 15 July 2021. Arrested in the street the day after the presidential election in April, the professor, renowned in the African continent for his knowledge in the constitutional field, will be tried for “undermining the security of the State and money laundering”. He was presented to the judge with his co-accused: a retired soldier, a non-commissioned officer still serving, and the one who manages the finances of his political movement, Dynamique Aïvo. A group of Beninese and European lawyers has been hired to defend the opponent who totally denies the facts that are alleged against him.They are former President of the Bar Robert Dossou, Professor Barnabé Georges Gbago, French Christophe Bass and François Mazon, as well as their Belgian colleague Ludovic Hennebel. These black dresses, according to the information provided by Rfi, are allowed to consult their client’s file.
Joel Aïvo appeared and his trial was dismissed. His lawyers have filed an application for parole, which will be reviewed by the Cree on August 5, 2021. Created in 2018, the legal institution is, for opponents of the regime of Patrice Talon, an instrument of liquidation of potential presidential candidates.
The former Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the National University of Benin (UNB) will be in prison on July 18, 2021, until his 48th birthday.
