Congo politician refuses first court hearing

Bloomberg

Jailed opposition presidential candidate Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko refused to appear in court for the first time since he was detained almost two years ago.
Mokoko, who turned 71 on Monday, didn’t show up at the High Court in the capital, Brazzaville, because as a former chief of staff of the army he’s immune from prosecution, his lawyer Eric Yvon Ibouanga said by phone from the city. The court also has yet to set an official trial date, Ibouanga said.
“His immunity has not been lifted, which means he can’t be tried,” Ibouanga said. “He wants a proper date set for his trial. The legal procedure hasn’t been respected.”
Mokoko was jailed in June 2016 on charges of threatening state security, three months after he challenged President Denis Sassou Nguesso in elections. Mokoko is suspected of plotting to overthrow Sassou Nguesso after a video dating from 2007 surfaced during the election campaign in which he was seen discussing a coup plan, Ibouanga said in 2016. Mokoko, who served as presidential adviser on security matters for more than a decade, denies the charges.
Congolese authorities deployed police and armored vehicles at strategic points in Brazzaville prior to Mokoko’s expected court appearance, said Clement Mierassa, the president of the Congolese Social Democratic Party, who backed the opposition leader’s candidacy in 2016. A military helicopter has also been patrolling the city, he said.
Sassou Nguesso has been president of the oil-producing central African nation since 1997. There are currently more than 133 opposition members and civil society leaders imprisoned in Brazzaville, according to the Congolese Observatory for Human Rights.