[fblike]

Follow us on facebook

Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Q & A: Simone Gbagbo found guilty

March 11, 2015
in News
0
0
Q & A: Simone Gbagbo found guilty
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail

Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for crimes during the post-election crisis in 2010 and 2011. Our sister site, Ivoire Justice, answers seven questions about the case. 

By Kahofi Suy and Maxence Peniguet

1. What is a trial at a court of Assize?

In a trial at the court of Assize, lay people take part in the issuing a ruling together with professional magistrates. The trial is public. The accused must be represented by a lawyer.

2. Was the trial started hastily?

Many people believe the trial was started hastily, despite protests by the lawyers collective and civil society organisations. There are two reasons for this:

  • In 2014, the European Union had pledged 5 million euros to Ivory Coast if the justice system started to try the perpetrators of all the crimes (i.e., the crimes committed by both sides) during the post-electoral crisis. So Ivory Coast had to act quickly, but in vain – diplomatic sources within the European Union told Ivory Coast that it wouldn’t receive the promised 5 million euros because it hadn’t start trying all the crimes.
  • The political explanation: “They acted quickly to justify a semblance of a trial to incriminate Laurent Gbagbo and his supporters for the 3000 victims of the crisis,” according to Dohora Blédé of the defence lawyers collective. We contacted the prosecution, but it refused to provide an answer.

3. How many people were on trial, and who were they?

Initially, there were 89 people on trial. 2 people died and six cases were dismissed. So 81 people, including Simone Gbagbo, were put trial. The presiding judge was Tahirou Dembélé. 34 defendants were released on bail and 46 were detaied at MACA, the main prison in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s biggest city.

4. What were they charged with?

The group, which the media soon called “the pro-Gbagbo accused” – faced a wide variety of charges, including undermining state security, creating an armed gang, xenophobia, tribalism, rebellion against state authority, etc.

5. Did the trial have a political and ethnic element?

An Ivorian human rights organization, APDH, believed that the trial of the 81 Gbagbo supporters would aggravate divisions in Ivorian society. The trial would back up the notion of justice for the victors and the victory of one political party and of one tribe over another. That’s because the victims, witnesses and judges all seemed to come from the same camp, while the accused came from other. Of the 36 lay people who acted as judges, 28 were Malinkés. 90% of the witnesses came from the north of the country, and 90% of the accused from western Ivory Coast. Among the witnesses were some were ex-fighters who had supported President Alassane Ouattara (possible criminals), mayors who belonged to the president’s RDR party and leaders of local women’s and youth associations that have close ties with the RDR.

Nevertheless, Eric Aimé Semien, the president of the Ivorian Human Rights Observatory (OIDH), said “ethnicity and party politics cannot be used as argument to challenge this court. What people want is for justice to be done, and the law says that there is no difference between a Bété and a Dioula (ed. two Ivorian tribes).”

6. If Simone Gbagbo was tried in Abidjan, why is the International Criminal Court still asking for her to be sent to The Hague?

For the Ivorian authorities and Simone Gbagbo’s defence lawyers at the ICC, the crimes the former first lady are accused of in Abidjan are the same ones the ICC is accusing her of. The charges though are not the same: in Abidjan, she was on trial for crimes against the state, whereas at the ICC, she is accused of crimes against humanity. But in December, the ICC judges made a new request for her transfer to the Hague. As far as they are concerned, the cases are not the same.

Ivory Coast has appealed the decision. But for the time being, the judges expect Simone Gbagbo to be sent to the Netherlands.

7. What was the verdict?

Simone Gbagbo was found guilty undermining state security, organising armed gangs and disturbing public order. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison and was deprived of her rights for a period of 10 years.  

Tags: ICC (International Criminal Court)Ivory CoastJustice News
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice and peace.

Related Posts

ICL Media Review: Russian veterans seek ICC investigation into use of mercenaries in Syria
ICL Media Review

ICL Media Review: Russian veterans seek ICC investigation into use of mercenaries in Syria

by ICL Media Review
November 18, 2019
0
258

In this week's review, news about the ECCC conviction of Chea and Samphan for genocide, the adjournment of Kwoyelo’s trial...

Read more
ICL Media Review: Sri Lankan General Accused of War Crimes Promoted to Head of Army

ICL Media Review: Sri Lankan General Accused of War Crimes Promoted to Head of Army

August 26, 2019
160
ICL Media Review: Killing of Children Spikes in Mali in Possible Crimes Against Humanity

ICL Media Review: Killing of Children Spikes in Mali in Possible Crimes Against Humanity

August 17, 2019
112
ICL Media Review: Fears of Ethnic Cleansing in Kashmir Following India’s Revocation of Region’s Special Status

ICL Media Review: Fears of Ethnic Cleansing in Kashmir Following India’s Revocation of Region’s Special Status

August 10, 2019
103
NPWJ: More than 1,000 march in Warsaw in support of LGBT rights

NPWJ: More than 1,000 march in Warsaw in support of LGBT rights

August 5, 2019
140

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice and peace.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub reflects conversations on accountability and access to justice. We feature change-makers, researchers, and justice activists who make concrete the abstract concepts of Justice and Rule of Law. Justice Hub - alongside our sister project Hague Talks is powered by the Hague Project Peace and Justice – a network of over 200 Hague-based organisations working on peace and justice issues.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
Create New Account
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Q & A: Simone Gbagbo found guilty