ICC lawyers ask that Laurent Gbagbo stay in jail while appeal is prepared
Gbagbo was arrested in 2011 after a five-month crisis triggered by his refusal to acknowledge defeat to President Alassane Ouattara in a vote
Abidjan — Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) asked that Ivory Coast’s former president, Laurent Gbagbo, be kept in custody while they prepare an appeal against his acquittal. Gbagbo was being tried for crimes against humanity by the court in The Hague, where he has spent seven years in detention. His acquittal on Tuesday will pave the way for his return to the world’s biggest cocoa grower as it prepares for presidential elections in 2020. Gbagbo was arrested in 2011 following a five-month crisis that was triggered by his refusal to acknowledge defeat to President Alassane Ouattara in a vote. The post-election conflict left at least 3,000 people, mostly Gbagbo opponents, missing or dead. The court should only release Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude, leader of the pro-Gbagbo militant group Young Patriots who was also acquitted, under strict conditions as they are flight risks, trial lawyer Eric MacDonald said at proceedings on Wednesday that were streamed on the websit...
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