The two Frenchmen were found guilty of attempting to kill Andry Rajoelina, the president of Madagascar. On Friday, they asked Madagascar’s Court of Cassation to reverse their sentences of 10 and 20 years of hard labor.
The president announced laconically during an expedited session that the court “rejects the appeals.” Both Philippe François, a former French army colonel who became a businessman, and Paul Rafanoharana, a Franco-Malagasy former adviser to the head of state, were detained in July 2021.
After an eight-day trial in December, they were judged responsible for planning the “Apollo 21” operation, which was directed at Andry Rajoelina.
The plot’s main architect is thought to be Paul Rafanoharana. During the trial, he acknowledged the letter’s existence and its demand for a sizable sum of money to “ensure the overthrow of the regime in place.”
Philippe François is charged with complicity for allegedly using a front company to hide the Apollo 21 project’s illicit operations.
As punishment for attempting both a coup d’état and an assassination of the head of state, they were given sentences of 20 years and 10 years in prison, respectively, with hard labor.
Their attorneys informed AFP that they were considering the prospect of extraditing their clients to France after the rejection of their appeal. One of them said, “But that would require acknowledging the Malagasy sentence and so acknowledging that there was truly an attempted coup d’état.
There are a total of 20 people involved in this case.
