A court in Mali is due to deliver its verdict in the trial of former coup leader Amadou Haya Sanogo. The former general, who overthrew Mali’s president in 2012, is accused of ordering the kidnap and murder of 21 soldiers following a failed counter-coup later the same year.

Malian authorities previously have warned Sanogo’s trial could undermine stability in a country already struggling with armed groups and ethnic violence. Sanogo also still has support within the military, which last August staged another coup, toppling President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

Families of the victims have already accepted a compensation deal. Mali also passed a law in 2019 granting amnesty for some crimes committed during Mali’s 2012 troubles.  Sanogo and his co-defendants did not go on trial until late 2016 and then the case was swiftly adjourned. They were granted bail in January 2020.