Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo is expected to find out whether he will be freed after seven years behind bars on charges of crimes against humanity.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver the eagerly awaited decisions at 10:00 GMT on Tuesday after Gbagbo’s requests for an outright acquittal or conditional release.
About 3,000 people were killed in the West African nation in a violent standoff during 2010 and 2011 when the 73-year-old refused to accept defeat in an election against his bitter rival and now Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
The ICC will also rule on a bid for release by Charles Ble Goude, 47, dubbed Gbagbo’s “Street General”, who is on trial with his former boss.
Gbagbo and Ble Goude face four counts of crimes against humanity for murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts committed by pro-Gbagbo forces in the aftermath of the disputed 2010 polls.
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| Gbagbo requested an outright acquittal or conditional release [File: Michael Kooren/Reuters] |
If the ICC judges decide to free Gbagbo, he will be following his wife Simone Gbagbo, who walked away from a 20-year jail term in Ivory Coast in August when she was granted amnesty by Ouattara after seven years in detention.
Tensions will be high in the Ivory Coast where about 200 victims gathered on Monday in Abidjan to urge the ICC to keep Gbagbo in jail.
“We have come to officially and publicly oppose any release of Laurent Gbagbo – the ICC is acting as if the victims didn’t exist,” Issiaka Diaby, head of a group which represents 8,000 victims, told AFP news agency.
“If Laurent Gbagbo is released, we victims will not see justice,” added Karim Coulibaly, 43, whose arm was amputated after he was shot during the violence.
“I was a driver but now I am unemployed. I’m not against reconciliation but first you have to look after the victims.”
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| About 200 victims gathered in Abidjan to urge the ICC to keep Gbagbo in jail [Sia Kambou/AFP] |
The ICC was set up in 2002 to try crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity. So far most of its cases have involved African countries.
Previous attempts at the ICC to try top politicians for crimes committed by subordinates or followers have all run into serious difficulties.
In 2014, the ICC’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda dropped crimes against humanity charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Last year, former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba was acquitted on appeal for crimes allegedly committed by his militia in the Central African Republic in 2002-2003.
“If Gbagbo walks out free, the ICC should rethink what it could possibly achieve,” Thijs Bouwknegt, an international law specialist, told AFP.
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