Gbagbo trial: his defense requests confirmation of his acquittal

Laurent Gbagbo on February 6, 2020 before the ICC. AFP / Jerry Lampen

Text by: Stéphanie Maupas Follow

At the International Criminal Court (ICC), the defense of Laurent Gbagbo replied on March 13 to the appeal brief which the prosecutor had filed in December. Fatou Bensouda asked the judges to set aside the acquittal pronounced in January 2019 in favor of the former Ivorian president and his co-accused, Charles Blé Goudé, and to order the dismissal instead. Laurent Gbagbo's defense, on the contrary, requests the appeal chamber to confirm his acquittal and to lift the conditions imposed on his release, including the ban on leaving Brussels, where he resides.

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From our correspondent,

The defenders of Laurent Gbagbo attack again the demonstration of the prosecutor. They accuse the prosecution of failing to demonstrate the errors allegedly committed by the judges in ordering the acquittal. For Emmanuel Altit, the prosecutor was able to present all these witnesses for two years, file his evidence and benefit from " the full support of the new Ivorian regime ". Nothing therefore justifies the dismissal requested by the prosecution.

But he would leave open the possibility of trying Laurent Gbagbo again for the same facts, whether in The Hague or Abidjan. And the defense sees it as a desire to remain " master, ad vitam aeternam, of the destiny of Laurent Gbagbo ". The dismissal would weigh like " a sword of Damocles " on the head of the former president. A weapon, but also a loophole, further advances the lawyer, who judges that the prosecution is trying to make the judges weigh the weight of their own failures.

Evidence already too weak in 2013

The lawyer recalls the episode of 2013, when the judges refused to indict Laurent Gbagbo, believing that the evidence was already too weak. He noted that by acquitting Laurent Gbagbo after three years of trial, the trial chamber had reached the same conclusions.

Finally, Maître Altit recalls that Fatou Bensouda recently indicated that she could possibly conduct a new trial, before new judges. A statement deemed opportunistic by the lawyer, made for the sole purpose of maintaining the conditions imposed on the release of the former president.

Read also : ICC: conditions for the release of Laurent Gbagbo discussed on February 6

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  • Laurent Gbagbo

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