Yacin Yabeh Galeb was the chief of staff of Force Nationale de Police of Djibouti

Djibouti

Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

 from 1977 to December 7, 2000 when he was demoted to adviser to interior minister. Shortly afterwards police loyal to him attempted a coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

. The coup attempt was stopped by the army; he fled to a French military base but was turned over to Djibouti authorities on December 9. On December 13 he was charged in court with conspiracy and breaching state security. He was said to be an old friend of President Ismail Omar Guelleh

Ismail Omar Guelleh

Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....

, but relations between the two had reportedly been worsening prior to the events.

Yacin Yabeh Galeb was reportedly released for medical treatment in June 2001, but he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in June 2002.