24 Sierra Leonean soldiers are sentenced to long prison terms for failed coup. One gets 120 years

BY KEMO CHAM

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Twenty-four soldiers in Sierra Leone were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, some for up to 120 years, after being convicted by a military court for their roles in an attempted coup in the West African nation last year.

A seven-member jury convicted the soldiers late Friday following an 8-month trial in the foiled coup against President Julius Maada Bio which occurred in November.

Dozens of gunmen at the time broke into the country’s armory in the capital city and into a prison where the majority of the more than 2,000 inmates were freed. The clashes left 18 security forces dead. Authorities at the time said they arrested around 80 suspects, and a dozen were charged in January, including former president Ernest Bai Koroma, later granted medical leave.

The soldiers convicted on Friday were sentenced to varying prison terms, most imprisoned for dozens