The former First lady of Cote d’Ivoire was once more in court yesterday to answer new charges.
Simone Gbagbo, the wife of the former President of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo was once more in court on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 to answer new charges of crimes against humanity as she is accused of involvement in rights abuses against supporters of her husband’s rival current President Alassane Ouattara in the 2010 presidential election. In the expected one-month trial, she faces allegations of crimes against prisoners of war, crimes against the civilian population and crimes against humanity, African Review newspaper reported.
Mrs Gbagbo was already in court in March 2015 when she was handed a 20-year jail sentence for “attacking State authority” over her role in post-election violence in 2010 that left more than 3,000 people dead. The trial that started May 31, is taking place in Abidjan, where the 66-year-old former first lady is being held. News agencies reported that several dozens of her supporters cheered when she arrived in court, while she waved and smiled at them. The trial opened just five days after the Supreme Court rejected her final appeal against the 20-year sentence she was handed last year in her first trial.
The new trial of Simone Gbagbo started in the absence of three rights groups that represent nearly 250 victims, who have refused to take part in the trial on grounds that they doubt its credibility. Human Rights Watch said the trial could be a pivotal moment for Cote d’Ivoire but warns, "However, for the trial to be meaningful to victims, it must be credible, fair, and followed by other trials that target high-level rights abusers from both sides of the 2010-2011 post-election crisis," Africa Review quoted the group’s statement.
The leader of the Ivorian League of Human Rights, Pierre Kouame Adjoumani is quoted to have explained that, "Our lawyers have not had access to all stages of the procedures, how can they defend their case.” At the moment Simone Gbagbo is starting another trial, her husband, Laurent Gbagbo is currently on trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
