ICC issues warrant for Gbagbo’s wife
THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for the wife of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, Simone, accusing her of being his “alter ego” in orchestrating a campaign of election violence almost two years ago in which 3000 people died.
The warrant on four counts of crimes against humanity was issued in February but made public by the court only on Thursday and is the first issued by the ICC for a woman.
Simone is accused of “crimes against humanity, of murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhumane acts” committed during the 2010-2011 post-election crisis, the court said. The bloody standoff came after Gbagbo and his rival, Alassane Ouattara, claimed victory in the much-delayed November 2010 presidential election in the world’s top cocoa producer.
The court said the violence was committed as part of a “common plan … and that Mr Gbagbo’s inner circle, to which Ms Gbagbo belonged, met frequently to discuss the implementation and co-ordination of the plan”.
“Although not elected, Ms Gbagbo acted as an alter ego for her husband, exercising the power to make state decisions,” the court said.
The crimes during the ethnically tinged conflict were carried out by the Ivorian army, as well as youth militias and mercenaries loyal to Gbagbo, who is himself awaiting trial at the ICC, the court said.
“They targeted civilians who they believed were supporters of Alassane Ouattara, and the attacks were often directed at specific ethnic or religious communities,” the court said.
Simone Gbagbo, 63, on November 13 started testifying in Odienne, the town in northwest Ivory Coast where she has been detained for 18 months and faces charges that include genocide and embezzlement.
Her party, the Ivorian Popular Front, denounced the warrant issued against her by the ICC as “unjust”.
ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said shortly after the warrant was made public that she expected Ivory Coast to hand over its former “Iron Lady”.
“We expect the Ivorian authorities to continue co-operating and to surrender Simone Gbagbo to the court,” she said, hailing the country’s co-operation so far.
There was no indication that Ivory Coast was about to hand Simone over, but her husband was handed over almost a year ago immediately after the ICC made public his arrest warrant.
Sources close to the matter in Abidjan told AFP the ICC had informed the government of the warrant against Simone shortly after it was issued in February but that Ouattara was against her transfer to The Hague because of the profoundly negative effect her husband’s transfer had the reconciliation process.