ABIDJAN/AMSTERDAM: Ivory Coast transferred Charles Ble Goude, a youth leader and close ally of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday to face charges of crimes against humanity linked to a 2011 post-election civil war.
The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, announced last October it had issued an arrest warrant for Ble Goude, who headed the Young Patriots street militia during Gbagbo’s presidency. Ble Goude was arrested in Ghana in Jan. 2013.
The government of Ivory Coast’s current president, Alassane Ouattara, said on Thursday it had decided to hand Ble Goude over to the court. “The Ivorian government informs the national and international communities that Charles Ble Goude was today transferred to The Hague,” said a statement from government spokesman Bruno Kone read on state television.
Around 3,000 people died in the conflict that erupted after Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat to Ouattara in a presidential runoff election in late 2010. Gbagbo, captured at the end of the fighting in April 2011 by French and UN-backed fighters supporting Ouattara, has been in the ICC’s custody since November 2011 and stands accused of responsibility for rapes, murders, persecution and inhuman acts.
Known as “The Street General” for his fiery speeches and ability to draw thousands of his supporters onto the streets, 41-year-old Ble Goude had previously asked to be tried by an Ivorian court and not to be sent to The Hague.
Fatou Bensouda, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, welcomed the news of Ble Goude’s transfer and promised further investigations into the 2010/11 violence, which she said could result in prosecutions of either side in the conflict. “We are a step closer in helping to unveil the full truth in one of Côte d’Ivoire’s worst episodes of mass violence,” she said. “Those who use violence and commit mass crimes against civilians in pursuit of power must be held accountable.” Reuters
