Foiled coup d’État case: a customs officer, a unionist and two others tried at CRIET

The Court for the Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism (CRIET) opened on February 3, 2026 the trial of four people charged with praising crimes against state security, in the case of the foiled coup d’État of December 7, 2025 targeting President Patrice Talon.

Among the accused are a customs officer, a unionist, and two other individuals, prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for incitement to hatred, violence and incitement to rebellion, in connection with the foiled coup.

During the hearing, messages, audio recordings and videos favorable to the December 7 mutineers were presented to the Court as elements of the prosecution. Some defendants admitted to having disseminated or shared these contents, while others denied any intention to support the actions of the coup plotters.

According to the file, exchanges were recorded between one of the defendants and the alleged leader of the coup plotters, identified as a lieutenant colonel, despite the defendant’s protests that the call was simply to verify information.

One of the accused, arrested in Matéri, said he was on leave at the time of the events, a version the Court asked to document at the next hearing scheduled for March 17, 2026.

Another defendant, a member of the Benin Communist Party (PCB), contested the charges against him, explaining that the protest for which he is prosecuted was not aimed at supporting the coup d’État but at asserting national sovereignty and calling for a national dialogue.

The defense’s request for provisional release was rejected by the public prosecutor, who noted that the investigation was still ongoing and that risks of collusion among those accused could not be ruled out at this stage.

The case has been adjourned to March 17, 2026, the date on which the court will continue examining these accusations in a judicial context still tense around the foiled coup case.