Defense Lawyer, Counsel Sigismond Conteh representing the first accused Amadu Koita Makolo says his client is being kept in a in dark room with poor ventilation and sanitary condition.

“My client is placed in a dark cell and is very difficult to access,” he informed the Presiding Judge Justice Kamanda.

Speaking on the poor sanitary conditions in the cell, he revealed his client told him he would come out for 30 minutes only after 23hrs to defecate, wash with water placed on stool bucket. He also pointed that his client had been deprived from the visitation of others which he described as a a violation of Human Rights as spelt out in section 20 of the Sierra Leone 1991 constitution.

Sierra Leone charged 12 people with treason and other offenses for their roles in what authorities have called an attempted coup on November 26, 2023. One of those charged was Amadu Koita, whom the government has said was one of the organizers of the coup attempt.