Ivory Coast presidential candidate Soro sentenced to 20 years in prison

Guillaume Soro, the former rebel leader running for president in Ivory Coast, was convicted in absentia on Tuesday of embezzlement and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The verdict, announced after a trial that lasted only a few hours and was boycotted by Soro's lawyers, is likely to exclude Soro from October's election when President Alassane Ouattara is due to step down. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Soro in December -- just before he planned to return home from Europe to launch his campaign -- for allegedly plotting a coup against his former ally Ouattara's government and stealing public funds.

Soro has denied the charges, which he says are intended to prevent him from challenging Ouattara's preferred successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, in the election. "Guillaume Kigbafori Soro is condemned to 20 years in prison for embezzling funds and laundering public resources," said the judge, Cissoko Amouroulaye. The court also ordered that Soro be stripped of his civic rights for seven years.

Soro, 47, is expected to face another trial over the coup allegations. Soro led the rebels that swept Ouattara to power during the civil war that followed his disputed election victory in 2010. He went on to serve as prime minister and speaker of parliament under Ouattara but the two men later fell out as the president made clear he would oppose Soro's presidential ambitions.