Former Ivory Coast president faces charges at ICC

The Hague (Netherlands), Feb 19 (AP) International Criminal Court prosecutors will begin laying out evidence today, which they say proves that former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is guilty of crimes including murder, rape and persecution in the violent aftermath of his country's disputed 2010 presidential election. Gbagbo became the first former head of state to be taken into custody at the permanent war crimes court when he was extradited in November 2011 to face four counts of crimes against humanity. He insists he is innocent. At the hearing, beginning today afternoon and scheduled to run through Feb 28, prosecutors will present a summary of their evidence and judges must decide whether it is strong enough to merit a trial. Prosecutors say Gbagbo and his supporters plotted to target supporters of current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara in violence that erupted after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in the 2010 election. He is charged as an "indirect co-perpetrator." The court's judges have already ruled that they have jurisdiction to hear the case, but Gbagbo's lawyers have been given time at the start of the hearing to comment on his case's admissibility. Even though the court has jurisdiction, a case can be ruled inadmissible if Ivory Coast is prosecuting Gbagbo for the same alleged offences. The Hague-based tribunal is a court of last resort, which only tries crimes if countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute them. Human rights activists welcomed the start of the hearing, but also used the occasion to urge the court to also press charges against supporters of Ouattara allegedly involved in months of post-election violence that left some 3,000 people dead in a country once known as one of West Africa's most stable democracies. "Holding Gbagbo to account is a critical step for victims in (Ivory Coast)," Param-Preet Singh, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "But the slow pace of investigations against pro-Ouattara forces feeds the perception that the ICC is going along with victor's justice." (AP) PY 02191753 NNNN