By Ebi Kesiena
Authorities in the Central African Republic, CAR, have charged an European aid worker with terrorism and undermining state security, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
Martin Joseph Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese consultant for the American NGO FHI360, has been accused of communicating with armed groups to plot a coup, thereby jeopardizing national security.
The prosecutor charged Figueira with six crimes, including undermining internal and external state security and terrorism. If found guilty, he faces a sentence of forced labor for life.
The prosecutor’s office listed several of Figueira’s alleged crimes, including having contracts with leaders of armed groups, supplying strategic information about the positions of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), and providing money and weapons. He is also accused of being identified as an alleged employee of an American NGO conducting research on Fulani herders.
Additionally, Figueira allegedly defended war crimes and crimes against humanity, propagated armed groups, and encouraged them to establish an international terrorist branch similar to the Islamic State, the statement added.
