Former first lady of Ivory Coast acquitted of war crimes

An Ivory Coast court has acquitted the country’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo of war crimes in a trial that rights groups described as marred.

Gbagbo faced charges for her role in the 2010 postelection crisis, in which her husband, Laurent, refused to hand over power to President Alassane Ouattara. More than 3,000 people died and some 150 women were raped during the crisis.

State Prosecutor Aly Yeo said Gbagbo was part of a group that orchestrated attacks against opposition supporters. The prosecution called for a life sentence, but the jury unanimously voted to free Gbagbo.

“I’m disappointed and sad for the victims today,” said Issiaka Diaby, president of the victims association. “Only international justice can fight against impunity, it seems.”

Gbagbo’s husband is on trial for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The court also issued a warrant for her arrest, but officials failed to hand her over and tried her at the home court instead. Gbagbo already received a 20-year sentence in 2015 for offenses against the state.

“Since the start of the trial, we proclaimed her innocence,” Mathruin Dirabou, Gbagbo’s lawyer, told Reuters. “The prosecution’s case against her was empty.”

But Human Rights Watch described the trial as flawed. Advocacy groups representing the victims said the court denied the victims their right to participate in the trial.

“The poor quality of the investigation and weak evidence presented in her trial underscore the importance of the ICC’s outstanding case against her for similar crimes, not least as an opportunity for victims of her alleged crimes to obtain justice,” said Param-Preet Singh, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The advocacy group called on the government to move forward with the trials of several other accused officials who still remain in positions of authority.