The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday, March 31, upheld the acquittal, announced in 2019, of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, who has not been charged with crimes against humanity, and Charles Blé Goudé, former leader of the youth movement. the judges dismissed Fatoo Bensouda’s appeal. A setback for the ICC prosecutor who leaves office on June 15.
as reported from The Hague, Stephanie Maupas
It is a clear and definite decision taken by the Board of Appeal. The procedure was not bothered by shortcomings, as the prosecutor blamed. The trial judges were not wrong in assessing the evidence and this evidence was “extremely weak”, therefore emphasized the appeal. confirm both confirmations.
It is therefore a new shot for prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in this case.
A case that was started badly from the beginning, after Laurent Gbagbo arrived in The Hague in November 2011, other judges had for the first time rejected the case, refused to confirm the prosecution. They had still given the prosecutor another chance.
But each time, for ten years and until today, the prosecution will have been warned, warned on two points: the inconsistency of its dissertation and the weakness of its evidence.
The warnings have not changed anything and this long legal saga was therefore closed today in the picture of Laurent Gbagbo, who is sitting in the courtroom, with his thumb up in victory.
Fatou Bensouda stated that his office had “noted the verdict”
➡️ #ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: “As an official of the Court, I respect the integrity of this process and the decision of the Board of Appeal.” ⤵️
– Int’l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 31, 2021
“During my time, our approach to all matters has always been to promote our tasks and responsibilities with the utmost professionalism in strict accordance with #RomeStatute. The same principled approach guided our work in this case, prosecutor Fatou Bensouda replied. “As head of the court, I respect the integrity of this process and the decision of the Board of Appeal,” she added on Twitter. “The two dissenting judges would have allowed my office to appeal and ordered a new trial. The legal process at the ICC regarding these joint cases has gone and has resulted in an end result, says Fatou Bensouda.
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