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Former
Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo will appear before International
Criminal Court judges for the first time Monday over his role in the
deadly aftermath of last year's polls.
Gbagbo, the first
ex-president to be brought before the Hague-based court, will face four
counts of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, over
violence the UN says left some 3,000 people dead.
His transfer to
the ICC last week drew a furious reaction from his supporters and set a
tense backdrop for December 11 polls that had been billed as a chance to
foster reconciliation in the war-weary country.
When he makes his
brief initial appearance Monday at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT), judges will
verify Gbagbo's identity, read the alleged crimes and his rights under
the court's founding document, the Rome Statute.
Presiding Judge
Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi will also set a date for a hearing to
confirm charges against Gbagbo, who refused to accept defeat in a
November 2010 presidential run-off after a decade at the helm of
cocoa-rich Ivory Coast.
At that next hearing, not expected for
several months, prosecutors must convince the court's judges they have
enough evidence to take him to trial.
Facing four counts -- namely
murder, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts committed by forces
loyal to him between 16 December 2010 and 12 April -- Gbagbo, 66, is now
behind bars at the ICC's detention unit in a Hague suburb.
A former historian, Gbagbo was transferred to the Netherlands from the northern Ivorian town of Korhogo.
The
court issued a sealed arrest warrant against him on November 23 for his
part in the post-poll crisis, sparked by his refusal to step down in
favour of his long-time opponent, now Ivorian President Alassane
Ouattara.
When the judges authorised the investigation earlier
this year, they said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that
Gbagbo's camp hired some 4,500 mercenaries, including fighters from
neighbouring Liberia, and armed them.
According to figures given by the ICC prosecutor's office, between 700 and 1,048 people were killed by pro-Gbagbo forces.
Gbagbo's
camp described the transfer as "political kidnapping" and announced it
would boycott the upcoming election and pull out of reconciliation
efforts.
They saw the hand of Ouattara, who took office as
president in May after his forces arrested Gbagbo with UN and French
military backing, and called him a Western puppet.
But Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbo's firebrand youth leader, said the ICC was the ideal stage to confound Ouattara.
"The
truth comes out now, with Laurent Gbagbo holding the floor Monday and
for the coming months," he said in an "open letter to all Ivorians and
Africans" released on Sunday.
A government spokesman in Abidjan had hailed the transfer as an opportunity to give the country closure.
But
global human rights groups warned last week any prosecution focused
only on crimes committed by forces loyal to Gbagbo and not those of
Ouattara, would lead to an "explosive situation on the ground".
During
a visit to Abidjan on October 15, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
promised an "impartial investigation" aimed at "three to six people" who
bore the greatest responsibility for crimes committed during the
crisis.
He stressed Gbagbo was only the first to be brought to account and that "there is more to come."
The
Hague-based court, founded in 2002, is the first permanent
international criminal tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ICC's six other cases also relate to crimes committed in Africa.
Enlarge PhotoThe International Criminal Court's detention unit in The Hague, where Ivory Coast's …
Enlarge PhotoPeople check local newspapers bearing pictures of ex-Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo …
Former
Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo will appear before International
Criminal Court judges for the first time Monday over his role in the
deadly aftermath of last year's polls.
Gbagbo, the first
ex-president to be brought before the Hague-based court, will face four
counts of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, over
violence the UN says left some 3,000 people dead.
His transfer to
the ICC last week drew a furious reaction from his supporters and set a
tense backdrop for December 11 polls that had been billed as a chance to
foster reconciliation in the war-weary country.
When he makes his
brief initial appearance Monday at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT), judges will
verify Gbagbo's identity, read the alleged crimes and his rights under
the court's founding document, the Rome Statute.
Presiding Judge
Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi will also set a date for a hearing to
confirm charges against Gbagbo, who refused to accept defeat in a
November 2010 presidential run-off after a decade at the helm of
cocoa-rich Ivory Coast.
At that next hearing, not expected for
several months, prosecutors must convince the court's judges they have
enough evidence to take him to trial.
Facing four counts -- namely
murder, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts committed by forces
loyal to him between 16 December 2010 and 12 April -- Gbagbo, 66, is now
behind bars at the ICC's detention unit in a Hague suburb.
A former historian, Gbagbo was transferred to the Netherlands from the northern Ivorian town of Korhogo.
The
court issued a sealed arrest warrant against him on November 23 for his
part in the post-poll crisis, sparked by his refusal to step down in
favour of his long-time opponent, now Ivorian President Alassane
Ouattara.
When the judges authorised the investigation earlier
this year, they said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that
Gbagbo's camp hired some 4,500 mercenaries, including fighters from
neighbouring Liberia, and armed them.
According to figures given by the ICC prosecutor's office, between 700 and 1,048 people were killed by pro-Gbagbo forces.
Gbagbo's
camp described the transfer as "political kidnapping" and announced it
would boycott the upcoming election and pull out of reconciliation
efforts.
They saw the hand of Ouattara, who took office as
president in May after his forces arrested Gbagbo with UN and French
military backing, and called him a Western puppet.
But Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbo's firebrand youth leader, said the ICC was the ideal stage to confound Ouattara.
"The
truth comes out now, with Laurent Gbagbo holding the floor Monday and
for the coming months," he said in an "open letter to all Ivorians and
Africans" released on Sunday.
A government spokesman in Abidjan had hailed the transfer as an opportunity to give the country closure.
But
global human rights groups warned last week any prosecution focused
only on crimes committed by forces loyal to Gbagbo and not those of
Ouattara, would lead to an "explosive situation on the ground".
During
a visit to Abidjan on October 15, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
promised an "impartial investigation" aimed at "three to six people" who
bore the greatest responsibility for crimes committed during the
crisis.
He stressed Gbagbo was only the first to be brought to account and that "there is more to come."
The
Hague-based court, founded in 2002, is the first permanent
international criminal tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ICC's six other cases also relate to crimes committed in Africa.