Brothers of Togo president set for court over 'coup plot'

LOME (AFP) - Two half-brothers of Togo President Faure Gnassingbe along with 30 others are due in court this week over an alleged 2009 coup plot in the small West African nation, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Their court appearance on Thursday comes more than two years after former defence minister Kpatcha Gnassingbe was arrested for being the alleged mastermind of a coup plot against his half-brother.

A second half-brother, Essolizam Gnassingbe, as well as the ex-head of the armed forces, Assani Tidjani, are also among the accused.

It will be their first court appearance since their arrests over the alleged plot and they have not yet issued a plea. It remained unclear whether the trial itself would begin Thursday or if preliminary hearings would be held.

"The case of attempted violation of state security from April 2009 will be heard at the session of the judiciary chamber of the supreme court ... Thursday, September 1, 2011," said a statement from prosecutors read on state television.

"A total of 32 civilian and military individuals are to be judged."

Kpatcha Gnassingbe was arrested in April 2009 in front of the US embassy, where he was attempting to take refuge, and has been detained ever since.

Essolizam Gnassingbe has been out of jail since April, when he was given provisional release. Tidjani was arrested in July.

The suspects are accused of attempted violation of state security, criminal conspiracy, rebellion, violence and complicity.

At the time of the alleged plot, Kpatcha Gnassingbe's house was raided by elite troops in an operation that led to a bloody gunfight.

The president alleged at the time that the coup was to be staged while he was away on a trip to China.

Faure Gnassingbe came to power in 2005 after the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 38 years.