Five men, including three members of the defence force, were charged with treason by a court in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho Tuesday over a recent spate of attacks on politicians, SAPA news agency reported, according to dpa. Treason carries a life sentence in Lesotho. The charges relate to a series of shooting attacks on the homes of three government ministers, opposition leader Tom Thabane and the assistant police commissioner. No one was injured in the attacks, but property was damaged. The state accuses the suspects, two of whom are civilians, of trying to overthrow the government. The five were remanded in custody and ordered to appear again in court later this month. The charges against the group follow the charging last month of a radio journalist for subversion over his reading out on air of an anti-government letter. Lesotho, a tiny impoverished country of 1.8 million people, has been locked in turmoil since February elections over the distribution of 40 proportional representation seats in the 120-seat parliament. Former Botswana president Ketumile Masire has been trying to negotiate a compromise between the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and five opposition parties led Tom Thabane's All Basotho Convention.
