Gbagbo’s hearing to start on June 18, 2012, says ICC

Gbagbo’s hearing to start on June 18, 2012, says ICC

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday at The Hague said confirmation hearing for former Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, would start on June 18, 2012.
The confirmation hearing, according to the ICC, would be followed by the trial. 

A copy of the ICC’s order, made available to newsmen in Abidjan by the former president’s prosecutor, Kuadio Simplice, said that Gbagbo made his first appearance at the ICC on Monday, where his identity was confirmed.

Reports say that an arrest warrant by the court was presented to Gbagbo on Nov. 28, in Korhogo, North of Cote d’Ivoire, before he was subsequently arrested and flown to the Netherlands.

Charges

The former president has been charged for murder, rape and sexual abuses during the political crisis in his country.

Gbagbo had clung to power after losing in an election that was certified by the international community as free and fair, resulting in five-month political crisis that led to the death of more than 3, 000 persons, mostly civilians, before he was forced out of office on April 11.

The court said “The Trial Chamber 111 of the International Criminal Court has set the opening date of the confirmation hearing of charges in the case of Prosecutor versus Laurent Gbagbo Koudou to June 18, 2012.”

It said “this decision was announced during the first appearance of Laurent Gbagbo Koudou in court.”

At that hearing, attended by the Prosecution and Defence, represented by Emmanuel Altit, the Trial Chamber III has verified the identity of Mr. Gbagbo and has ensured that he was informed of the crimes he is accused of and his rights under the Rome Statute.

“A confirmation hearing is to determine if there are substantial grounds to believe that the suspect committed the crimes. If the Chamber decides to confirm the charges, it will return the case to a Trial Chamber, which will be responsible for conducting the next phase of the proceedings, namely the trial itself,”  the court further said.

On the context of the trial, the ICC said that the attacks on civilians were “widespread and systematic’’.

Reports say that Gbagbo’s personal counsel, Alain Toussaint and the former president’s family lawyer, Habiba Toure, were at The Hague to strengthen the president’s defence team.

The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Ocampo and his team of lawyers, were in Cote d’Ivoire in October to conduct investigations in various parts of the country on the case.

Meanwhile, Gbagbo's supporters, under the auspices of the Ivorian Peoples’ Front (FPI), have boycotted all political programmes in the country, including the ongoing reconciliation process, pending the release of the former president.

Gbagbo's party had been demanding for explanations on why supporters of President Allasan Ouattara were not also charged to court, after a report by the Amnesty International had indicted both sides of war crimes.

Reports say the former president and his wife were also facing charges of embezzlement and robbery before a local court in Cote d' Ivoire.

NAN/Adekusibe