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ICC Prosecutor Appeals Acquittal Of Cote D’Ivore’s Ex-President Gbagbo

  The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court appealed on Monday against the shock acquittal of former Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo over post-electoral … Continue reading ICC Prosecutor Appeals Acquittal Of Cote D’Ivore’s Ex-President Gbagbo


Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo gestures as he enters the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on January 15, 2019, where judges were expected to issue rulings on requests by Gbagbo and ex-government minister Charles Ble Goude to have their prosecutions thrown out for lack of evidence. The International Criminal Court on January 15 acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo over post-electoral violence in the West African nation in a stunning blow to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Judges ordered the immediate release of the 73-year-old deposed strongman, the first head of state to stand trial at the troubled ICC, and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude. Peter Dejong / ANP / AFP
Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo gestures as he enters the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on January 15, 2019. Peter Dejong / ANP / AFP

 

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court appealed on Monday against the shock acquittal of former Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo over post-electoral violence that killed around 3,000 people.

Gbagbo, the first head of state to stand trial in The Hague, and his deputy Charles Ble Goude, were both cleared of crimes against humanity in January and released the following month.

“The appeal will demonstrate that the trial chamber committed legal and procedural errors which led to the acquittals of Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude on all counts,” Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s office said.

Judges had cleared the pair “without properly articulating and consistently applying a clearly defined standard of proof,” said Bensouda.

Belgium agreed to host Gbagbo, 73, after he was released in February under conditions including that he would return to court for any prosecution appeal against his acquittal.

Ble Goude is meanwhile living in the Netherlands under similar conditions.

Gbagbo faced charges of crimes against humanity over the 2010-2011 bloodshed following a disputed vote the West African nation.

Prosecutors said Gbagbo clung to power “by all means” after he was narrowly defeated by his bitter rival — now president — Alassane Ouattara in elections in the world’s largest cocoa producer.

However judges dismissed the charges, saying that the prosecution “failed to satisfy the burden of proof to the requisite standard.”

The prosecutor had previously indicated in January that she intended in appeal but had to wait until the court’s full written reasons for the decision came out in July.

AFP