Madagascar ex-Senate president sentenced to 10 years over protest crackdown

Madagascar's former Senate president Richard Ravalomanana was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour on Tuesday after being convicted of complicity in murder over his alleged role in a deadly crackdown on youth-led protests last year.

Ravalomanana, a retired general and ally of former President Andry Rajoelina, denied the charges and said he would appeal.

Prosecutors accused him of directing security forces to use violence against protesters during demonstrations in September and October 2025. The protests began over persistent shortages of water and electricity before growing into a wider movement against Rajoelina's government.

At least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured during the unrest, according to UN figures cited by local media.

The protests helped trigger a political crisis that ended with Rajoelina's removal from office and the installation of a new administration led by Col Michael Randrianirina.

Ravalomanana was removed as Senate president in October, shortly after the protests, and arrested in December after failing to respond to a gendarmerie summons. He has been held in pre-trial detention at a high-security prison outside the capital for the past seven months.

Prosecutors said Ravalomanana used his influence within the gendarmerie, which led the security response to the demonstrations, to direct violent action against protesters.

His defence disputed that account, saying there was no evidence that he had ordered police, gendarmes or soldiers to use force. A former national police chief who testified at the trial also said Ravalomanana was not part of the operational chain of command during the unrest.

His lawyer questioned whether prosecutors had produced any written or verbal order directly linking his client to the violence.

The court dismissed a separate charge of making a death threat, ruling that the allegation was too old to prosecute.

Ravalomanana is also facing a separate corruption investigation. He is among several senior officials linked to Rajoelina's former government who have faced legal proceedings since the change of power.