Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's war crimes trial opened Thursday at the International Criminal Court. He denied charges of planning "unspeakable violence" after losing the election in 2010 leaving 3,000 people dead.
Reuters reported that War crimes prosecutors accused Gbagbo of orchestrating post-election violence, such as murder and gang rape, to stay in power. This plunged the country into civil war. The 70-year-old ex-president pleaded not guilty to the all the allegations. His co-accused, ex-militia leader Cherles Ble Goude, 44, also denied allegations slapped at him, which includes attempted murder, murder, persecution, and rape.
According to BBC, prosecutors accused Ble Goude as Gbagbo's spin doctor, interpreting every news in favour of their political party. He even resorted to give himself the moniker, "the street general." Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that during the peaceful rally in Abidjah, one woman was detained for three days, where Bensouda said police officers gang-raped the woman.
The Star wrote that Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said he will not allow the trial to become a political grandstanding. Hundreds of Gbagbo supporters convened outside of the court when the hearing started. They demanded the release of their former president, saying he was only a victim of former France colonial power and neo-colonial ideologies. Some of the ex-president's supports argue that the court is selective in its prosecutions.
Gbagbo lead the country into civil war after refusing to step down as president in 2010. He was beaten by Alassane Ouattara. Rival forces fought in a bloody clash from 2010 to 2011. Gbagbo was later on arrested in April 2011 and was extradited to The Hague.
The trial in The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to reach up to four years. It will be the biggest trial for the International Criminal Court since it convicted two Congolese warlords ever since the court's establishment in 2002.
