The ICC examines the request for an appeal trial against Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé

Text by: Bineta Diagne

Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé are again before the International Criminal Court in The Hague this Monday, June 22. A hearing is held before the ICC Appeals Chamber to hear observations on the appeal requested by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, against the acquittal of war crimes and crimes against humanity pronounced in late January 2019 in favor of the former Ivorian president and his former minister of youth.

Publicity

A year and a half after their acquittal , this is a new phase in the Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé case before the ICC. At first instance, the prosecutor presented 82 witnesses to the bar, to discuss the role of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé in the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011. The judges had pronounced an acquittal and pointed to "  the exceptional weakness  " of the evidence provided by the prosecutor. Fatou Bensouda immediately appealed. 

The goal is to "  see if we can really validate this acquittal, or if we must repeat this trial, so that the prosecutor is invited to represent the evidence,  " said Fadi El Abdallah, ICC spokesperson. .

"  The prosecutor does not attack the substance of the case, but the form  "

Fatou Bensouda believes that procedural errors were made when the acquittal was pronounced: in January 2019, the judges of the trial chamber delivered their decision orally, they provided only a few months later, a written submission.

"  The prosecutor is not attacking the merits of the case, but the form ," notes Thijs Bouwknegt, specialist in international justice at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Amsterdam. She asked the judges to find a " mistrial ", that is to say, a miscarriage of justice. This approach shows that Fatou Bensouda may not be very sure of the evidence provided in her case,  ”analyzes this lawyer.

"  In addition, this option certainly gives her the opportunity to review the cards in her hands: if the judges agree, she will have the opportunity to conduct new investigations. It would be a new start for her,  ”he concludes. Because if the judges invalidate the trial, Fatou Bensouda will then have to say what possible consequences she intends to give to the file and she could then ask for the conduct of a new case. 

The question of returning to Côte d'Ivoire

For the defense, the challenge is to obtain confirmation of the acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé. The ICC recently eased certain conditions linked to their release: the former Ivorian head of state and his former youth minister are no longer obliged to go to a police station every week to certify their presence. They have greater freedom of movement. The underlying issue is that of their return to Côte d'Ivoire. But for that, they need the authorization of the Court.

The ICC maintained certain constraints to preserve the confidentiality of the case. "  The appeals chamber has decided to lift some of the conditions it had imposed (in 2019), the other conditions remain in effect," said Fadi El Abdallah, spokesperson for the ICC. For example, the two acquitted persons must not contact the witnesses of the prosecutor's office, not to speak of the case in public, not to change their place of residence without authorization from the chamber. If the judges order, the two persons concerned must be physically present before the judges. But there is also the issue of procedural protection, witness protection… and avoiding debating confidential matters in the case before the media  ”. 

We are not waiting for a decision immediately. The five judges of the appeal chamber must deliberate. Two possible outcomes: final acquittal or not. 

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• Ivory Coast
• International justice
• Laurent Gbagbo
• Charles Blé Goudé