Former President Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast returned to his country 10 years after he was taken to the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. Ex-president Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé (former youth leader) were acquitted in 2019 of all the charges against them. In March 2021, the ICC appeals court upheld the 2019 acquittal, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé. Former president Laurent Gbagbo was the first former head of state to go on trial in an international criminal court. He has remained in Brussels since his release from prison three years ago. Mr. Laurent Gbagbo was charged by the ICC after he refused to concede defeat in the country’s 2010 presidential election in which his rival and current president, Alassane Ouattara, won the election. His (Laurent Gbagbo) refusal triggered a civil war in the country and about 3,000 people lost their lives.
Source: Viewers Corner News.