ICC judges to rule on Gbagbo's possible immediate release

International Criminal Court judges will rule Wednesday on whether to immediately release former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and an ex-youth minister who have been acquitted of charges of involvement in deadly post-election violence in 2010.

Prosecutors say they will appeal the acquittals once judges issue their written majority decision on Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude.

Judges on Tuesday ordered their release after acquitting them midway through their trial on charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and persecution.

In a written motion, prosecutors said it was likely their appeal will succeed and the defendants should only be released under conditions designed to prevent them from fleeing justice.

But lawyers for both men said the time has come to let them go, with no strings attached.

“Laurent Gbagbo is no longer an accused person, Laurent Gbagbo has been acquitted,” said the former president’s lawyer Emmanuel Altit.

Ble Goude’s lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops agreed.

“These two individuals are acquitted,” he told judges. “They should be given back their natural right to freedom.”

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said the court would issue a ruling later Wednesday.

Gbagbo was the first former president to go on trial at the global court and his case was seen as a milestone in efforts to bring to justice the highest-ranking leaders accused of atrocities.

More than 3,000 people were killed in late 2010 and early 2011 in violence that erupted after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by his rival and current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo has been in the court’s custody since November 2011 and Ble Goude since March 2014.

Their trial, which had been underway for nearly three years, was brought to an abrupt halt Tuesday when two of the three judges hearing the case ruled that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support their charges.

Prosecutors argue that if Gbagbo and Ble Goude are now released it should be under conditions designed to ensure they appear for appeal proceedings.

Defense lawyers said both men were prepared to sign a document pledging to appear at the court.

Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry of rights group Amnesty International called the acquittals “a crushing disappointment to victims of post-election violence” in Ivory Coast.