Madagascar's former Senate president, Richard Ravalomanana, has been sentenced to 10 years of hard labour after being found guilty of complicity in murder over the violent crackdown on youth-led "Gen Z" protests that toppled the previous government. A court in the capital, Antananarivo, ruled on Tuesday that Ravalomanana, a retired general and close ally of ousted president Andry Rajoelina, had directed security forces, including the gendarmerie, to use force against demonstrators. He denies the allegations and plans to appeal.

The protests, which began in September 2025 over chronic power and water shortages before broadening into wider anti-government unrest, left at least 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to UN figures. The upheaval ultimately forced Rajoelina from power and brought a new administration led by Col Michael Randrianirina to office. Ravalomanana was removed as Senate president last October and arrested in December after ignoring a summons, having since been held at the high-security Imerintsiatosika prison. A separate death-threat charge against him was dropped as too old to prosecute, while his defence argued no direct evidence linked him to orders given to security forces; he also faces a separate corruption probe.