ICC: Charles Blé Goudé requests the dismissal of the prosecutor's appeal Fatou Bensouda

Charles Blé Goudé with one of his lawyers at the International Criminal Court. The Hague, February 6, 2020. Jerry LAMPEN / POOL / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

Charles Blé Goudé, the former head of the Jeunes patriotes, was acquitted of crimes against humanity in January 2019, as was Laurent Gbagbo, but prosecutor Fatou Bensouda appealed this decision in October. This written procedure precedes future appeal hearings, the date of which has not yet been set. In their response, lawyers for Charles Blé Goudé asked the judges to dismiss the prosecutor's appeal and to confirm the acquittal of their client.

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With our correspondent in The Hague, Stéphanie Maupas

The lawyers of Charles Blé Goudé, the former leader of the Young Patriots of Côte d'Ivoire, unsurprisingly oppose the prosecutor. She asked the judges to set aside the acquittal and to dismiss it instead. The lawyers say that no one interfered in the investigation and that the Ivorian government has cooperated extensively with the court. The prosecution has had three years to present its witnesses, and for lawyers, the case is now closed.

Dismissal or acquittal?

For the lawyers of Charles Blé Goudé, the prosecutor remains vague on his intentions. In her memoir, Fatou Bensouda asked the judges to order the dismissal, but without them drawing the consequences. She wants to decide for herself what to do next. More recently, and to convince the judges not to lift the restrictions imposed on Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé following their acquittal , she argued that she could " possibly " request a new trial. Simply restart the business from scratch.

Blé Goudé's lawyers see it as a tactic to prevent the appeal chamber from confirming the acquittal. The dismissal would leave open the possibility of a new trial against Charles Blé Goudé, before the ICC or the Ivorian justice .

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  • International justice
  • Charles Blé Goudé
  • Ivory Coast

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