The two jailed officers are alleged to be close to ethnic northern politicians opposed to the current civilian government of President Laurent Gbagbo who hails from the south. Generals Lansana Palenfo and Abdoulaye Coulibaly were the numbers two and three in the military regime ousted last year. Illegal and political' Lawyers for the accused say the trial before a military tribunal is legally void and politically motivated. They say that because the two generals were government ministers they can only be tried before a special civilian court. The decision of one of the military tribunal judges, General Oumar Ndaw , to withdraw from the case could have political consequences, partly because General Ndaw himself hails from the north.
Defence lawyers say the tribunal judge had withdrawn because of conscientious objections.
The government of President Laurent Gbabo has not commented on these latest developments but politicians and media, loyal to Mr Gbabo have led a stream of criticisms of the northern politicians the two jailed generals are alleged to be close to. They accused the northern politicians of fomenting ethnic tensions. The military tribunal has been postponed to next week.