Ivory Coast’s president says former leader ’free to return’ after ICC acquittal

The ICC on April 1 delivered its judgment on the prosecutor’s appeal against a 2019 decision that had acquitted the former president of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo and his co-accused Charles Blé Goudé on all charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ivory Coast in 2010 and 2011.

CAPE TOWN, April 7 (ANA) – The president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara has said ex president Laurent Gbagbo and his youth leader Charles Ble Goude are “free to return to Ivory Coast when they want” after they were definitively acquitted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court a week ago.

The ICC on April 1 delivered its judgment on the prosecutor’s appeal against a 2019 decision that had acquitted the former president of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo and his co-accused Charles Blé Goudé on all charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ivory Coast in 2010 and 2011.

According to a statement issued by the ICC, the acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé is now final after a decade-long trial.

According to a report by news broadcaster Al Jazeera, Gbagbo has been living in Brussels under the ICC’s orders since his release from detention in 2019.

The appeals chamber also revoked all conditions on the release of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé and directed the ICC registrar to make arrangements for their safe transfer to a receiving state or states.

According to Al Jazeera, the 75-year-old has retained strong support at home despite spending years behind bars in The Hague, and has been positioning himself for a potential comeback since last year.

Furthermore, in other news out of the country, Ouattara retained finance minister Adama Coulibaly and budget minister Moussa Sanogo in a smaller cabinet, the secretary general in the presidency, Abdourahmane Cisse, told reporters Tuesday, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Ouattara’s brother, Tene Birahima Ouattara, was made substantive defence minister, having held the post in an acting capacity since the hospitalisation and subsequent death of Hamed Bakayoko, said the report.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay