Cote d'Ivoire: Why Gbagbo Acquittal Is a Bigger Blow for the ICC Than the Bemba Decision

analysis

Just less than three years into their trial former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé, leader of the youth militia, have been acquitted and ordered to be released by the International Criminal Court (ICC). They were both charged with four charges of crimes against humanity. These were murder, rape, inhumane acts and persecution of opponents in the aftermath of the election in Côte d'Ivoire between December 2010 and April 2011. The conflict left over 3,000 people dead.

This is not the first time that judges at the ICC have ordered the release of a person on trial. In 2008 and 2010 the Court ordered the release of Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga. The reason cited was the prosecutor's failure to disclose evidence which, it was argued, undermined the defendant's right to a fair trial. This judgment was rejected on appeal and the court later convicted him in 2012.

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