Cote d’Ivoire ex-president Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday faces International Criminal Court judges who will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago.<\/p>\n
Mr Gbagbo, 67, the first-ever former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, faces four counts of crimes against humanity including murder and rape for fomenting a wave of violence which swept the west African nation after he refused to concede defeat in November 2010 presidential polls.<\/p>\n
Four months of fighting followed, ravaging the world’s largest cocoa producer and leaving some 3,000 people dead, according to the UN.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors will put their arguments to Argentinian judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, who will then decide whether there are “substantial grounds to believe that Gbagbo committed the crimes” and should be charged.<\/p>\n
The prosecution says Mr Gbagbo spearheaded a plan to “stay in power by all means… through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks” against supporters of election winner and current Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.<\/p>\n
“Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy,” the prosecution said.<\/p>\n
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Mr Gbagbo’s forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.<\/p>\n
NMG<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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