The 46 Ivorian soldiers suspected of being "
mercenaries
" and detained in Mali since July, were sentenced on Friday to twenty years of criminal imprisonment for "
attack and conspiracy against the government
" and "
undermining the external security of the State
" , Attorney General Ladji Sara said in a statement.
The three female Ivorian soldiers released in early September by Bamako were sentenced to death in absentia following the trial held Thursday and Friday in Bamako, before the expiry of the ultimatum set for the 1st January by West African heads of state to the Malian junta to release the 46 soldiers still imprisoned.
