FILE PHOTO: Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba arrives for the second day of a European Union (EU) African Union (AU) summit at The European Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, February 18, 2022. John Thys / Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
LUANDA (Reuters) - Former Gabon president Ali Bongo, ousted in a coup in 2023, has flown to Angola with his wife and son, who were transferred from prison to house arrest last week, Angola's presidency said in a statement posted on Facebook.
African Union officials called last month for the release of Bongo's wife, Sylvia Bongo, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, who were taken into custody shortly after the August 2023 coup and accused of crimes including embezzlement and money laundering.
Ali Bongo himself, who is 66, was initially placed under house arrest after the coup though officials later said he was free to move as he wished. His supporters said this was untrue but he is not known to have left Libreville since then.
Two sources familiar with the case told Reuters the family had left Gabon before midnight on Thursday.
Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo were transferred to house arrest on May 9. They had most recently been held in basement cells in the presidential palace in Libreville, one of the sources familiar with the case said.
Their supporters have said they were tortured in custody, though coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema, now serving as president, has denied that.
Gabon's communications minister, Paul-Marie Gondjout, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nguema was sworn in for a seven-year term as president this month after winning an election with nearly 95% of the vote.
In a meeting on April 30, the African Union's Peace and Security Council readmitted Gabon, whose membership of the AU had been suspended after the coup.
In a statement, the council called for the immediate release of Ali Bongo's family and for guarantees that their rights and health would be protected.
Bongo had ruled Gabon since 2009, taking over from his father, who died after more than four decades in office.
(Reporting by Miguel Gomes and Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
