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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Madagascar sentences ex-president | Madagascar sentences ex-president |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A Madagascar court has sentenced former leader Marc Ravalomanana in absentia to four years in jail for alleged abuse of office, a minister says. | A Madagascar court has sentenced former leader Marc Ravalomanana in absentia to four years in jail for alleged abuse of office, a minister says. |
| Justice Minister Christine Razanamahasoa told reporters it was for buying a presidential jet. The court also fined Mr Ravalomanana $70m (£42m). | Justice Minister Christine Razanamahasoa told reporters it was for buying a presidential jet. The court also fined Mr Ravalomanana $70m (£42m). |
| He is currently in South Africa seeking international support for a return to the Indian Ocean island. | He is currently in South Africa seeking international support for a return to the Indian Ocean island. |
| He lost power in March amid protests by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina. | He lost power in March amid protests by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina. |
| The army-backed takeover has been widely condemned as a coup d'etat. | The army-backed takeover has been widely condemned as a coup d'etat. |
| "Ravalomanana mixed public interests with his personal interests," Ms Razanamahasoa said. | |
| 'Extravagance' | |
| Mr Ravalomanana, a self-made millionaire, had said the $60m (£37m) jet was meant to enable him to travel more efficiently and to be able to secure more aid and foreign investment. | |
| Andry Rajoelina (C) accuses the man he deposed of misusing public funds | |
| But critics saw it as an unnecessary extravagance and Mr Rajoelina has repeatedly used the purchase to denounce Mr Ravalomanana, accusing him of mismanaging public funds. | |
| Mr Ravalomanana's former finance and budget minister, Haja Razafinjatovo, was given a similar sentence by the court in the capital, Antananarivo. | |
| The BBC's Christina Corbett in Antananarivo says the court's verdict makes the prospect of any return to Madagascar for the deposed leader very unlikely. | |
| Mr Ravalomanana has accused the island's former colonial power, France, of backing Mr Rajoelina. | |
| He has not been internationally recognised as president, but appears emboldened after a return from recent trips to Libya and Senegal, our correspondent says. | |
| The unrest earlier this year led to the deaths of more than 100 people and crippled the island's tourist industry. | |
| Fragile negotiations between Madagascar's political parties have been taking place in the capital, our reporter says. | |
| But the UN-backed talks have failed to reach any agreement on a consensus government to rule in Madagascar until presidential elections are held. |