Legal representatives for Alain Claude Bilie By Nze state that their client has been held for more than three months in connection with a long-standing private dispute. In a recent statement, they claim this disagreement, involving approximately 7,600 euros and dating back to 2008, has been used as the basis for his arrest. According to the Ensemble pour le Gabon party, the former head of government faces accusations of fraud and breach of trust. Before General Brice Oligui Nguema’s August 2023 coup d’état, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze served as Prime Minister. He subsequently ran in the presidential election, which General Nguema won, but was unable to challenge the outcome.

Concerns over detention conditions and legal procedure

The opposition leader’s counsel reports that he is confined to a five-square-meter cell, lacking natural light, within a Libreville correctional facility. They also highlight a 100-day period of isolation, which they describe as both «political and arbitrary». Furthermore, the defense maintains that it has never been granted access to the case file. They state that the investigating judge reportedly claimed to no longer possess the relevant documents. A request filed by the lawyers to annul the proceedings was rejected by the Libreville Court of Appeal on June 2. «A man is being held based on a file that his defense has never been permitted to examine,» declared attorney Arthur Vercken in the statement released by the defense team. The August 2023 coup brought an end to over five decades of Bongo family rule. Brice Oligui Nguema was subsequently elected president in a vote presented by the new authorities as a step towards civilian governance. Alain Claude Bilie By Nze’s incarceration takes place amidst a political climate marked by the restructuring of institutions following this transition.