Ivory Coast

Abidjan (AFP) – Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo on Wednesday denied charges of crimes against humanity during political violence in 2010 and said she had suffered attempted rape while in detention.

“I stand before this court on the demand of the government and for crimes that I did not commit,” Gbagbo said as her trial went into its second day.

“I am accused of facts that have not been proven. And not only that — I am accused of direct involvement,” she said, wearing a violet scarf around her shoulders.

The wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, nicknamed Ivory Coast’s “Iron Lady”, also said she suffered a rape attempt when she and her husband were arrested on April 11, 2011.

She also claimed French soldiers deployed in Ivory Coast filmed the attempted rape.

Simone Gbagbo is accused of planning and organising rights abuses against supporters of her husband’s presidential rival to try to keep him in power at any cost.

Gbagbo refused to admit defeat at the hands of his rival in 2010, triggering violence between the two sides. He is currently also facing trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

More than 3,000 people died in the post-poll bloodbath which petered out on the arrest of the Gbagbo couple in 2011, when troops stormed the bunker where they had taken refuge in the nation’s main city, Abidjan.

Simone Gbagbo denies charges of crimes against prisoners of war, crimes against the civilian population and crimes against humanity.

Several human rights groups representing victims have pulled out of the legal proceedings, saying the case against her was flawed and too hastily organised.

Prosecutors hit back at the criticism on Wednesday. “The trial that began yesterday will be a fair trial that will respect the rights of the defence, a transparent trial,” said Abidjan’s chief prosecutor, Aly Yeo.

In court, Simone Gbagbo lashed out at her husband’s rival — now president of Ivory Coast — of instigating the 2010 bloodshed.

“The post-election crisis was born from the refusal of Alassane Ouattara, with the help of French authorities, to respect the constitution of Ivory Coast,” she claimed.

“Personally, I arrived at the Golf hotel (Ouattara’s headquarters) with my buttocks exposed, naked, and I suffered several attempts to rape me in broad daylight … and all this in the presence of French soldiers who were filming this,” she said.

When she was arrested, the former first lady was manhandled and forced to appear in photographs that showed her dress torn at the shoulder.

Gbagbo, nicknamed the "Iron Lady", appeared in court on May 9 during a pre-trial hearing flanked by 12 other defendants where she was the only one not to be handcuffed. — Gbagbo, nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, appeared in court on May 9 during a pre-trial hearing flanked by 12 other defendants where she was the only one not to be handcuffed.

Abidjan (AFP) – Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo will be tried for crimes against humanity starting Tuesday, having already been jailed for 20 years for her part in 2010’s post-electoral violence.

The wife of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo is currently being held in Abidjan after being convicted of “attacking state authority” over her role in the post-election violence that left more than 3,000 people dead.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had wanted to prosecute Gbagbo in the case, issuing a warrant for her arrest but Ivorian authorities refused to hand her over, claiming that she would face a fair trial at home.

Ivorian prosecutors had originally held off trying her for crimes against humanity while negotiations were ongoing with their counterparts in The Hague.

She will now answer allegations of crimes against prisoners of war, crimes against the civilian population as well as crimes against humanity, according to a charge sheet obtained by AFP.

Her husband is currently on trial at the ICC for crimes also linked to the unrest following his refusal to step down after the 2010 elections.

The post-election crisis was sparked by his refusal to recognise the victory of President Alassane Ouattara in the November 2010 presidential poll.

– ‘Fanciful accusations’ –

One of Simone Gbagbo’s lawyers, Mathurin Dirabou, has described the charges against her as “fanciful”.

“These accusations have been created to please certain parts of the international community. It’s a pity. Enough is enough,” he added.

Joel N’Guessan, a spokesman for current President Ouattara’s Rally of Republicans Party (RDR), insisted that the second trial was not excessive.

Gbagbo, nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, appeared in court on May 9 during a pre-trial hearing flanked by 12 other defendants where she was the only one not to be handcuffed.

The 66-year-old was welcomed into the courtroom by several supporters whom she greeted as she took to the witness box, even hugging well-wishers when she left but declining to speak to reporters.

The upcoming trial will open just five days after Ivory Coast’s Supreme Court rejected her final appeal against her 20-year sentence.

The decision to hold the legal proceedings in Ivory Coast has been seen as a snub to the ICC after Ouattara said in February that he would “not send any more Ivorians” to The Hague, insisting that his country has an “operational justice system”.

Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, has struggled to return to normalcy after years of civil war, which effectively divided the country between the mainly Christian south and the largely Muslim north.

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