Former general jailed for deadly hotel raid

An Ivory Coast court has sentenced a former top general to 18 years' imprisonment in connection with the abduction and murder of four foreigners from the Novotel hotel in Abidjan. A report on the eNCA site notes that the two Frenchmen, a Malaysian and a Benin national were snatched from the hotel on 4 April, 2011 during the country’s post-election crisis. The prosecution said they were taken to the presidential palace where they were ‘tortured and savagely beaten before being killed’. General Brunot Dogbo Ble, a Gbagbo loyalist who used to head the Republican Guard, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars while former police chief Osee Loguey was sentenced to 20 years. Two others were jailed for six and 10 years, while four men were acquitted. The ruling was handed down on Thursday following a two-month trial.