Opening of hearing to confirm charges against him started on September 29, 2014.

The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of Charles Blé Goudé, the right-hand person  of the former President of Cote d’ Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo   to last till October 2, 2014, started at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Monday, September 29.

The hearing before the Pre-trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is handled by a jury composed of the presiding Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi and also Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova and Judge Christine van den Wyngaert, in the presence of the Prosecution, the suspect and his Defence, and the Legal Representatives of Victims.

Charles Blé Goudé is said to bear individual criminal responsibility, as indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts, allegedly committed in the territory of Côte d'Ivoire between December 16, 2010 and April 12, 2011.

The period corresponds to the post-presidential election crisis in Cote d’Ivoire reportedly caused by former President Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat.  Blé Goudé was leader of the pro-Gbagbo youth movement,  “jeunes patriotes” and believed to have masterminded the post-electoral violence in which more than 3,000 people died.

The confirmation of charges hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that he committed each of the crimes charged. If charges are confirmed, the Pre-trial Chamber commits the case to trial before a Trial Chamber, which conducts the subsequent phase of the proceedings in the trial.