The International Criminal Court will on Wednesday rule on whether to uphold the acquittal of Ivory Coast’s former President Laurent Gbagbo.
Mr Gbagbo and his former youth leader Charles Ble Goude were charged in connection with post-electoral violence in the West African nation more than a decade ago.
The 2010 post election violence flared when Mr Gbagbo – who’d been in power for a decade – refused to accept defeat.
They were cleared of crimes against humanity in 2019.
The prosecution appealed against the decision to clear Laurent Gbagbo, arguing there were procedural errors in how the original verdict was delivered and insisting that thousands of documents and 96 witnesses presented during the trial, had proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt,
The 75-year old has been living in Brussels but hopes to go home if the prosecutor’s appeal fails.
The judgement will be closely followed in Ivory Coast, where the former president remains an influential figure, in a nation still striving for political stability.
Last year there were deadly clashes, when Mr Gbagbo’s long-running rival Alassane Ouattara announced he planned to seek a third presidential term.
Source: BBC
