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Momodou
Denmark
11512 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Jan 2019 : 21:14:07
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International Criminal Court acquits former president Gbagbo of war crimes in Côte d’Ivoire
The development relates to bloody clashes in the West African nation that claimed a reported 3,000 lives following the 2010 election in which current President Alassane Ouattara defeated Mr. Gbagbo.
In June, the Court – which has more than 15 other cases that are either ongoing or yet to commence, including against Mr. Gbagbo’s wife, Simone – overturned the war crimes conviction of Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement, the ICC said that both Mr. Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Blé Goudé had been acquitted “from all charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Côte d'Ivoire in 2010 and 2011”, relating to the alleged existence of a “common plan” to keep the former premier in power.
The crimes for which they were being tried included murder, rape and persecution.
The Hague-based court added that the order to release both men could be appealed by the prosecution in a new hearing on Thursday morning.
Ahead of a full statement explaining its decision, it noted that the Prosecutor had “failed to submit sufficient evidence” showing how both men had committed crimes against civilians, “pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy”, nor the existence of “patterns of violence” indicative of a “policy to attack a civilian population”.
The ICC statement also explained that the Prosecutor had been unable to show that speeches by each man “constituted ordering, soliciting or inducing the alleged crimes…accordingly, there is no need for the defence to submit further evidence”.
https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/01/1030482
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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International Criminal Court acquits Gbagbo
