Former Ivory Coast president on trial for 'unspeakable' crimes

Trial of Laurent Gbagbo, who has pleaded not guilty, is most high profile in The Hague since ICC was set up in 2002

 Laurent Gbagbo and his lawyer Emmanuel Altit wait for the start of the trial at the ICC in The Hague. Photograph: Reuters

Ivorians watching the trial on television. Photograph: Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters

 Former militia leader Charles Blé Goudé. Photograph: Peter Dejong/EPA

Jason Burke-Thursday 28 January 2016

Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Ivory Coast, has pleaded not guilty to accusations of orchestrating “unspeakable violence” in an attempt to hold on to power after losing an election in 2010.

Gbagbo, 70, wearing a dark suit and blue tie, rose on the opening day of his trial atthe international criminal court in The Hague to deny four counts of crimes against humanity, including ordering murder and gang-rape. His co-accused, the former militia leader Charles Blé Goudé, also pleaded not guilty to the same charges, which carry life imprisonment terms. 

The trial is a landmark in the history of the ICC. Gbagbo is the highest profile politician to stand trial since it was set up 14 years ago. He remains influential at home and there are fears that his trial could rekindle tensions in Ivory Coast. 

The charges relate to an alleged campaign of violence launched by Gbagbo after his defeat by the current president, Alassane Ouattara, in elections in 2010. About 3,000 people died in the unrest. 

Gbagbo, who had refused to give up power, was eventually run to ground in a basement after French troops and the UN moved to end the conflict. He was brought to The Hague in November 2011.

Fatou Bensouda, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has vowed to “leave no stone unturned” in investigating alleged crimes by all sides in the brief civil war in 2010, but Gbagbo’s supporters and many victims of the 2010 clashes have accused investigators of bias.

Gbagbo’s son, speaking to the BBC in Ivory Coast on Thursday, said his father was being “persecuted” and that he did not believe the ICC could deliver justice.

Bensouda said her aim was “to ensure justice and accountability on all sides”.

“I reiterate that the purpose of the trial is to uncover the truth, for the sake of doing justice for the victims, and to prevent mass atrocities recurring in the future,” she told reporters earlier this week.

Gbagbo, a former university professor turned activist, spent much of the 1980s in exile in France. After returning, he lost the 1990 presidential vote and spent six months in prison in 1992 for his role in student protests.                                              Read More