Credit:  Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé at the hearing held on 15 January 2019 before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands ©ICC-CPI

By Gary Raynaldo

International Criminal Court judges ruling by majority Wednesday decided that ex-Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo should be released immediately from The Hague-based detention center following his acquittal of all war crimes charges yesterday.  ICC judges also decided to release Gbagbo’s right-hand man Charles Blé Goudé who was also cleared of war crime charges Tuesday.  The ICC judicial panel found that:

…there were no exceptional circumstances preventing the release of Mr. Gbagbo and Mr. Charles Blé Goudé from ICC detention following their acquittal yesterday. The ICC Prosecutor may appeal this decision.”

ICC Trial Chamber I Judicial Panel January 16, 2019. 

Gbagbo, 73, Was First Head Of State To Stand Trial At ICC War Crimes Tribunal

Credit: ICCtwitter.com / Laruent Gbagbo at Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019 court hearing in The Hague Netherlands.

Gbagbo and Blé Goudé were accused of four counts of crimes against humanity (murder, rape, attempted murder, and persecution) allegedly committed in the context of post-electoral violence in  Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011. Their trial opened on Jan. 28, 2016.  Both Gbagbo and Blé Goudé pleaded not guilty.  Gbabgo and Blé Goudé also requested the ICC to acquit them on grounds that there is not enough evidence to proceed with the trial.

ICC DECISION TO ACQUIT  LAURENT GBAGBO 

“The Majority, however, considered that the Prosecutor has failed to submit sufficient evidence to demonstrate the responsibility of Mr. Gbagbo and Mr. Blé Goudé for the incidents under the Chamber’s scrutiny. ”      ICC Judges Jan. 15, 2019 

The ICC Chamber further concluded, by majority, that the Prosecutor failed to demonstrate that public speeches by Gbagbo and Blé Goudé constituted ordering, soliciting or inducing the alleged crimes. The Chamber decided that, accordingly, there is no need for the defence to submit further evidence.

Some 3,000 people lost their lives in the crisis, after Gbagbo refused to concede victory to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, Ivory Coast’s current president.   Blé  Goude was the head of the Young Patriots, an organisation of Gbagbo loyalists that was blamed for a campaign of violence against those seen as Ouattara’s supporters.

It Is Not Certain Where Gbagbo and Blé Goudé Will Go Following Their Release From The Hague Court

Reuters news agency reported that the former Ivory Coast leader wants to return back home following his release.

“My father will not live in any other country than Ivory Coast. He would go back and we expect him to go back,” his daughter, Marie Laurence Gbagbo, told Reuters outside the court.

However, many political observers say Gbagbo’s and Blé Goudé’s immediate return to Ivory Coast is unlikely, as it would certainly exasperate tensions between supporters of current President Alassane Ouattara and backers of Gbagbo. 

The Court Chamber Wednesday directed the ICC Registrar to obtain the necessary assurances from Gbagbo and Blé Goudé  and their respective lead counsel in ensuring the return of both men, if and when, their presence at the seat of The Hague Court is requested. The ICC Registrar will make the necessary logistical, organisational and diplomatic arrangements for the release of Gbagbo and  Blé Goudé ; and the location of their release shall depend on their observations on the agreement of the concerned State(s).