A court in Madagascar has handed former Senate president Richard Ravalomanana a 10-year hard labour sentence over his alleged role in a deadly crackdown on protesters.
Prosecutors accused the retired general of helping direct violence during anti-government demonstrations in 2025.
Ravalomanana denies the accusations and plans to appeal, Africanews reported.
Protests began over basic services
The demonstrations began in September 2025 after public anger grew over repeated water and electricity shortages.
However, the protests soon expanded into a broader movement against then-President Andry Rajoelina and his government.
UN figures cited by local media put the death toll at at least 22 people. More than 100 others suffered injuries during the unrest.
The crisis later contributed to Rajoelina’s removal from power. Col Michael Randrianirina then took control of a new administration.
Prosecutors accuse Ravalomanana of influencing security forces
Prosecutors said Ravalomanana used his influence within the gendarmerie to encourage violent action against protesters.
However, his lawyers rejected that claim.
They argued that prosecutors failed to show that Ravalomanana directly ordered police, soldiers or gendarmes to use force.
Moreover, a former national police chief told the court that Ravalomanana did not belong to the operational chain of command during the unrest.
His lawyer also challenged prosecutors to produce a written or verbal order that directly connected Ravalomanana to the violence.
Authorities arrested him after the political crisis
Officials removed Ravalomanana from the Senate presidency in October 2025.
Authorities later arrested him in December after he failed to respond to a gendarmerie summons.
He then entered pre-trial detention at a high-security prison outside Madagascar’s capital.
Meanwhile, Ravalomanana also faces a separate corruption investigation.
Several senior officials linked to Rajoelina’s former government have also faced legal proceedings since the political transition.