The former first lady of Cote D’Ivoire, Simone
Gbagbo, has been sentenced to 20 years in
prison for her role in a 2011 post-election crisis
in which around 3,000 people were killed.
Gbagbo, who is also wanted by the International
Criminal Court (ICC), was tried with 82 other
allies of former President Laurent Gbagbo.
General Bruno Dogbo Ble, who headed the elite
republican guard, and former navy chief Admiral
Vagba Faussignaux were also each jailed for 20
years, their lawyer said, while others including
the ex-president’s son Michel got shorter
sentences.
Supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to
acknowledge his defeat by Alassane Ouattara in
elections in 2010 sparked a brief civil war,
claimed the trial was politically motivated.
Simone Gbagbo’s lawyer, Rodrigue Dadje, told
Reuters she had been found guilty of crimes
including disturbing the peace, organising armed
gangs and undermining state security
He said they would appeal against the verdict by
the end of the week, adding: “She is keeping her
morale up since she was more or less expecting
this.”
Her sentence, handed down in the early hours of
Tuesday by a six-member jury after nine hours
of deliberations, was longer than the 10 years
requested by the state prosecutor. Her civil
rights will also be suspended for 10 years, Dadje
said.
Crimes Against Ivorian State
Laurent Gbagbo is awaiting trial at the ICC
accused of crimes against humanity. Cote
D’Ivoire refused to transfer Simone Gbagbo to
The Hague to face similar charges, arguing that
she could receive a fair trial in a domestic court.
An ICC spokesman said her conviction in Cote
D’Ivoire would not affect the case before the
world court, which he said would continue to
seek her extradition by Ouattara’s government.
“Ms Gbagbo was convicted only of crimes
against the Ivorian state, not for the killings,
rape and crimes against humanity for which she
is to be tried by the ICC,” New York-based rights
campaigner Human Rights Watch said in a
statement.
Pascal Affi N’Guessan, president of Gbagbo’s
Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party and seen as a
potential candidate to challenge President
Ouattara in elections this year, was handed an
18-month sentence.
But, credited with time served, he was freed, as
were nine ex-government ministers and four
journalists who had been among dozens of
Gbagbo’s allies arrested after the violence in
2011.
Simone Gbagbo said on Monday prosecutors had
insulted and humiliated her while failing to prove
her guilt.
“I’m prepared to forgive. I forgive because, if we
don’t forgive, this country will burn,” she said.
Though praised for his stewardship of Cote
D’Ivoire’s post-war recovery, Ouattara has been
accused by human rights groups of pursuing
one-sided justice against his former rivals while
ignoring abuses committed by his own
supporters.
In the commercial capital Abidjan, reaction was
divided, with some calling for the release of
Simone Gbagbo and the other defendants as a
gesture towards national reconciliation.

Source::

http://www.channelstv.com/2015/03/10/cote-divoire-court-jails-former-first-lady-20-years/

Now,that's a working government and a very reliable judiciary, unless one we mustnt talk about. #PEACE

Buhari should be tried and jailed too..