The Hague | The International Criminal Court (ICC) decides on Wednesday whether it confirms or annuls the acquittal pronounced in 2019 of the former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, the first former head of state that it tried, during a trial for crimes against humanity linked to the post-election violence in 2010 and 2011.
Almost 10 years after the opening of the case, the appeals chamber of the ICC could close the case by confirming the acquittal or on the contrary pave the way for a new trial, desired by the prosecution.
The court’s outgoing attorney general, Fatou Bensouda, appealed in September 2019, eight months after the acquittal.
Accused of four counts of crimes against humanity – murders, rapes, persecutions and other inhuman acts – Laurent Gbagbo, 75, and one of his relatives, Charles Blé Goudé, former leader of the Young Ivorian Patriots movement nicknamed “the general de la rue ”, were acquitted in January 2019 and released on conditions a month later.
They have always proclaimed their innocence in these crimes committed in 2010 and 2011 during the post-election violence that left 3,000 dead in Côte d’Ivoire, born of Mr. Gbagbo’s refusal to recognize at the end of 2010 the presidential victory of his rival Alassane Ouattara.
Since his acquittal, Mr. Gbagbo has lived in Belgium. The ICC refused a request for unconditional release, but allowed the ex-president to leave Belgium to a country that agreed to receive him.
The ICC judgment will be delivered at 3:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT) by the president of the appeals chamber and former president of the Hague-based court, Chile Eboe-Osuji.
It has not yet been confirmed whether Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé will be present in the courtroom or whether they will attend by video conference, due to the restrictions relating to Covid-19, a door told AFP. – speech of the ICC.
Errors of law
In possession, according to his lawyer, of two passports, one ordinary and one diplomatic, handed over by the Ivorian authorities, the former president announced in December his desire to return to Côte d’Ivoire, but this return is still pending.
The judgment of the ICC should be followed closely in Côte d’Ivoire, where the shadow of Laurent Gbagbo still hangs over a nation scarred by political violence for more than 20 years. New violence linked to the last presidential election in October 2020, won by Alassane Ouattara who was running for a controversial third term, killed nearly 100 people.
President from 2000 to 2010, Mr. Gbagbo, still very popular among his supporters, was arrested in 2011.
After his surprise acquittal – the judges having notably considered that the evidence against him was insufficient -, the office of the prosecutor of the ICC considered that the magistrates had not rendered a reasoned decision in due form and had made errors. of law and procedure.
Fatou Bensouda, as well as his services, are under fire from criticism: if the ICC, founded in 2002 to judge the worst atrocities committed around the world, has notably condemned Congolese warlords and a Malian jihadist, the prosecution has failed in its most iconic cases.