Ivory Coast President pardons dozens jailed for treason

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has pardoned and ordered the release of 51 people convicted of treason and other state security charges. 

The beneficiaries of the presidential clemency include military and civilian figures convicted of offenses committed during the post-electoral crisis and for endangering state security.

Among those pardoned are General Dogbo Blé Brunot and Koné Kamaraté Souleymane. Souleymane was Guillaume Soro's head of protocol when he served as Prime Minister and head of the National Assembly.

General Dogbo Bruno was the commander of the Republican Guard under former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Their pardon was announced by the National Security Council in a statement on Thursday.

Allies and war comrades, Soro fell out with Ouattara in 2019. Soro, who was in 2020 sentenced in absentia to twenty years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, and then to life imprisonment for "endangering state security" has been living in exile since.

He denies the charges.