THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — International Criminal Court judges should scrap conditions of release imposed on Ivory Coast’s former president, his lawyers argued Thursday in a move they hope will free Laurent Gbagbo to return home during a tense election year.
Gbagbo and former youth minister Charles Ble Goude were both acquitted in January 2019 of crimes against humanity charges linked to their alleged roles in deadly violence that erupted following disputed elections in 2010.
Prosecutors for the international court, which also handles cases involving alleged genocide and war crimes, have appealed the acquittals. They said during Thursday’s hearing in the Hague that they want to stage a retrial.
Gbagbo and Ble Goude were allowed to leave the court’s custody pending the outcome of the appeals. Judges imposed conditions on their freedom that included not leaving Belgium, the country hosting them. The two also were ordered to relinquish their passports, to report weekly to police or the court and to not contact witnesses or speak to the media about their case.
Representing Gbagbo, international law professor Dov Jacobs told ICC judges they didn’t have the right to rein in the ex-president’s liberty.
“In principle, no restrictions can be placed on the freedom of a person who has been acquitted,” Jacobs said. “This person should be able to enjoy all his rights, including his civil and political rights.”
Dozens of supporters attended Thursday’s hearing, waving to Gbagbo from the public gallery as the proceeding opened. Gbagbo smiled and waved back. It wasn’t immediately clear when the court would decide on whether to free Gbagbo and Ble Goude.
Their supporters were hopeful judges would release them.
“Today we are expecting something that should have happened long ago. We are not only expecting — we know that its going to happen today. It’s a day for freedom. It is a day to celebrate,” Njoh Fabrice Frisson said outside court.
However, the hearing ended without any decision or indication when the five-judge panel would issue a ruling.
During a lunch break, some 300 supporters gathered outside the court’s detention center to listen to speeches and music.
If judges agree to lift the conditions, it would clear the way for Gbagbo and Ble Goude to return to Ivory Coast almost nine years after Gbagbo was ousted from power by force.
The possibility of Gbagbo’s return is already escalating political tensions in a presidential election year. In written submissions to the court, Ivory Coast’s government argued that allowing Gbagbo to come back could rekindle the very tensions that led to him being put on trial.
Ivory Coast’s incumbent leader, Alassane Ouattara, who ultimately prevailed back in 2011, has signaled that he could attempt to serve a third term if Gbagbo were to try and run again. Doing so would involve revising the constitution before October, and the opposition already has warned such a move could lead to widespread social unrest. https://apnews.com/c00f3edafa411b15d7ff359cd547e1b1
