Sia Kambou / AFP | Former Ivorian first lady Simone Gbagbo looks on at Abidjan's courthouse before the re-opening of her war crimes trial on October 10, 2016.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday announced amnesties for around 800 people, including former first lady Simone Gbagbo who is currently behind bars, in the name of national reconciliation.

Advertising Read more

Last week Ivory Coast's Supreme Court overturned an earlier acquittal granted to Gbagbo for crimes against humanity.

The wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, in power from 2000 to 2010, will "soon be freed," Ouattara said during a televised address to the West African nation on the eve of the country's independence day.

Simone Gbagbo has been serving a 20-year sentence handed to her in 2015 for "endangering state security".

Laurent Gbagbo has been in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for seven years.

Gbagbo 'implicated in violence'

Since 2016, he has been tried for alleged crimes against humanity during post-election unrest in 2010.

Among the others granted amnesties by Ouattara on Monday were former defence minister Lida Kouassi -- a key ally of Laurent Gbagbo -- who was sentenced this year to 15 years for conspiracy, and former construction minister Assoa Adou, jailed in 2017 for four years.

"On Monday I signed an amnesty order that will benefit about 800 citizens prosecuted or sentenced for offences related to the post-election crisis of 2010 or state security offences committed after May 21, 2011, (the date of Ouattara's inauguration)," the president said in his address.

Around 500 of those named have already been released provisionally from detention, he added. They will have their criminal records erased.

The other 300 will be released "soon", he added, without giving any dates.

The question of national reconciliation in Ivory Coast, or the lack of it, has been seen by observers as a black mark against Ouattara.

About 3,000 people died in the turmoil that swept Abidjan -- once one of Africa's most cosmopolitan cities -- in the aftermath of the November 2010 presidential polls when Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to bitter rival Ouattara.

(AFP)</s>Ivory Coast’s jailed former first lady Simone Gbagbo has been granted amnesty by the president in what he says is a move to foster reconciliation.

In 2015, Mrs Gbagbo was sentenced to 20 years for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections in which more than 3,000 people died.

Her husband, Laurent Gbagbo, is on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Mrs Gbagbo was among 800 people that President Alassane Ouattara pardoned.

Speaking on state television, the president said that through the amnesty he wanted to bring about “peace and real reconciliation”

The violence in 2010 in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, was sparked by Mr Gbagbo refusing to accept that he lost a disputed election run-off to Mr Ouattara.

Mr and Mrs Gbagbo were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.

The former first lady was accused of “attempting to undermine the security of the state”, disturbing public order and organising armed gangs.

She was also charged with crimes against humanity but was acquitted in a separate trial in 2017. That acquittal has since been overturned.

Mrs Gbagbo is still wanted by the International Criminal Court. It issued a warrant for her arrest in 2012 on charges of murder, rape and persecution.

The government refused to hand her over, saying she will be tried in Ivory Coast

The amnesty is being seen by some analysts as an attempt by the president to bolster his legacy ahead of the end of his second and final term in 2020.

But some question whether he has done enough to bring about reconciliation.

“This is one the main issues where [Mr Ouattara] has failed so far,” Ivory Coast analyst Oumar Ba told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

Mrs Gbagbo’s daughter, Marie Antoinette Singleton, was also sceptical about the president’s move.

“It cannot be about national reconciliation. It’s been eight years and the government has not done much to get the people to reconcile,” she told the BBC.

About 500 of those granted amnesty are already out of prison, President Ouattara said.

But it is not clear when the rest, including the former first lady, will be freed.

She and her husband have always maintained their innocence, saying the cases against them were political. BBC.</s>ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Ivory Coast's president has granted amnesty to former first lady Simone Gbagbo, who had been serving 20 years in prison for offenses against the state.

President Alassane Ouattara on state television late Monday announced he had granted amnesty to 800 political prisoners prosecuted for crimes connected to the 2010 postelection crisis.

More than 3,000 people were killed after ex-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat.

Simone Gbagbo, in custody since April 2011 was sentenced in March 2015 for offenses against the state. She has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity but Ivory Coast has refused her transfer.

Ouattara says the amnesty decision shows commitment to peace and reconciliation and he urges those affected to ensure no repetition of violence.</s>The jailed former first lady of Ivory Coast, Simone Gbagbo, has been granted an amnesty by President Alassane Ouattara.

She’s among about 800 people being pardoned.

Mr Ouattara said most had been prosecuted or sentenced for offences connected to the violence that killed thousands of people after the elections that brought him to power in 2010

Mrs Gbagbo was jailed for such offences, and had also been facing a new trial for crimes against humanity.

Her husband, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, is already being tried at the International Criminal Court.</s>Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday announced amnesties for around 800 people, including former first lady Simone Gbagbo who is currently behind bars, in the name of national reconciliation.

Last week Ivory Coast's Supreme Court overturned an earlier acquittal granted to Gbagbo for crimes against humanity.

The wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, in power from 2000 to 2010, will "soon be freed," Ouattara said during a televised address to the West African nation on the eve of the country's independence day.

The Ivory Coast was plunged into political violence in the aftermath of a bitterly contested presidential election that pitted Gbagbo against Ouatarra, who eventually won out.

Simone Gbagbo has been serving a 20-year sentence handed to her in 2015 for "endangering state security" for her role in the political violence.

She had been accused of implication in the 2011 shelling of a market in a district of the capital Abidjan that supported Ouattara and for being a member of a "crisis cell" that allegedly coordinated attacks by the armed forces and militias in support of her husband.

Laurent Gbagbo has been in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for seven years.

Since 2016, he has been tried for alleged crimes against humanity during post-election unrest in 2010.

Among the others granted amnesties by Ouattara on Monday were former defence minister Lida Kouassi -- a key ally of Laurent Gbagbo -- who was sentenced this year to 15 years for conspiracy, and former construction minister Assoa Adou, jailed in 2017 for four years.

"On Monday I signed an amnesty order that will benefit about 800 citizens prosecuted or sentenced for offences related to the post-election crisis of 2010 or state security offences committed after May 21, 2011, (the date of Ouattara's inauguration)," the president said in his address.

Around 500 of those named have already been released provisionally from detention, he added. They will have their criminal records erased.

The other 300 will be released "soon", he added, without giving any dates.

The question of national reconciliation in Ivory Coast, or the lack of it, has been seen by observers as a black mark against Ouattara.

About 3,000 people died in the turmoil that swept Abidjan -- once one of Africa's most cosmopolitan cities -- in the aftermath of the November 2010 presidential polls when Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to bitter rival Ouattara.

A confidential report from EU ambassadors in the Ivory Coast, seen by AFP last week, said the lack of reconciliation was a "major flaw".

"National reconciliation," the diplomats warned, "...seems to have been sacrificed on the altar of impunity and amnesia."

With fresh presidential elections due to be held in 2020, there are fears a lack of progress in bringing political opponents together could spark fresh violence and Ouatarra's amnesty may be seen as an attempt to quell such concerns.

Sensitive to the political criticisms aimed at his administration, Ouatarra also vowed to "strengthen social programmes" and "intensify the fight against corruption" in his speech.</s>Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara on Monday announced amnesties for 800 people including the former first lady Simone Gbagbo, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015.

Ouattara made the clemency announcement in a televised speech on the eve of the country's 58th Independence Day on Tuesday and said those offered amnesty must ensure the country does not relive such violent events.</s>Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday declared an amnesty for Simone Gbagbo, who had been convicted of offences against the state during a brief 2011 civil war.

Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, was one of 800 citizens that Ouattara said he had pardoned, in a state address broadcast live on TV.

She had been tried and convicted in 2015 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Last year, an Abidjan court acquitted her of crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to her role in the 2011 civil war that killed about 3,000 people. Human Rights groups criticised that decision.

“Because of my commitment to peace and true reconciliation, I proceeded to sign this day an amnesty order . . . which will benefit 800 of our citizens,” Ouattara said in the address that seemed to be aimed at cooling political tensions.

Ivory Coast is Francophone West Africa’s largest, most successful and diverse economy. But its combustible politics – turbocharged by ongoing ethnic and land disputes and scores to settle from a decade-long crisis – makes an election scheduled for 2020 potentially perilous.

Besides Simone Gbagbo, another beneficiary was Kamagate Souleymane, a former rebel when Laurent Gbagbo was in power, and who is close to national assembly leader Guillaume Soro.

Soro’s rebel movement claims credit for helping Ouattara come to power after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in an election, triggering the short but brutal 2011 civil war for which Laurent Gbagbo is currently on trial in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Political tensions are heating up ahead of elections in 2020. Ouattara’s ruling RDR coalition has fallen out with the coalition’s junior partner, the PDCI, whose leader expelled party members named to a new Cabinet last month.

There have also been doubts over whether Ouattara will step down after two terms, as required by the constitution, although in his address on Monday he repeated a remark made last month that he would “work to transfer power to a new generation”. – Reuters</s>Former Ivory Coast first lady Simone Gbagbo is one of 800 prisoners who were granted amnesty Monday by President Alassane Ouattara for offenses related to the brief but deadly civil war in 2011.

Simone Gbagbo was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 after she was convicted on a charge of endangering state security for her role in the violence. She was tried and acquitted last year on a charge of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors accused her of leading a cell that carried out violent reprisals against opponents of her husband, then-President Laurent Gbagbo, including supplying it with weapons and attack helicopters.

About 3,000 people were killed in the West African nation in 2011 after Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept his loss to Ouattara in elections held the previous November. Gbagbo was later captured and turned over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he is on trial for crimes against humanity.</s>ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday declared an amnesty for Simone Gbagbo, who had been convicted for offences against the state during a brief 2011 civil war.

Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, was one of 800 citizens that Ouattara said he had pardoned, in a state address broadcast live on TV.

She been tried and convicted in 2015 of offences against the state and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Last year, an Abidjan court acquitted her of crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to her role in a 2011 civil war that killed about 3,000 people.</s>Ivory Coast's Ex-First Lady, Along With Hundreds Of Others, Granted Amnesty

On Monday, one day before Ivory Coast celebrated 58 years of independence, the West African country's leader announced that he is granting liberty of another kind to hundreds of Ivorians. In a nationally televised address President Alassane Ouattara declared amnesty for some 800 people involved in the bloodshed that followed the 2010 election — including one of the country's most notorious convicts, its former first lady Simone Gbagbo.

The wife of former President Laurent Gbagbo, Simone was serving a 20-year sentence for supporting her husband's bloody campaign to keep power after losing that election. The defeated strongman's efforts lasted about six months — until his capture, side by side with Simone, put an end to a conflict that claimed at least 3,000 lives and left others maimed or raped.

Simone Gbagbo was convicted in 2015 of crimes ranging from organizing armed gangs to "attempting to undermine the security of the state," though she was later acquitted of crimes against humanity in a separate trial. She is still wanted by the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for her arrest — and is currently trying her husband for crimes against humanity, including murder and rape.

But on Monday, Ouattara said it is time for "peace and real reconciliation"

"The father of the nation, Félix H. Boigny, said that there is no sacrifice too great for peace," the president explained in his address.

Of the 800 people marked for forgiveness, a number that includes several former ministers, Ouattara said about 500 have already been released from prison but will have the crimes expunged from their records. The rest will be released from custody soon.

Gbagbo had not been expecting the announcement, her lawyer tells the weekly Jeune Afrique, but "she is delighted and cannot wait to go home."

Yet her daughter, Marie Antoinette Singleton, sounded a more skeptical note in conversation with the BBC: "It cannot be about national reconciliation. It's been eight years and the government has not done much to get the people to reconcile."

Years earlier, in an interview with NPR, Singleton dismissed the trials of her parents as "a political issue" but added that reconciliation would be possible — provided Ouattara changed how he treats his erstwhile opponents, many of whom were exiled.

"Nothing is done to bring them back," Singleton said at the time. "Nothing is done to give them their wealth and their possessions back. Nothing is done to bring peace between the people."

Now, with another presidential election looming in 2020, it appears Ouattara is seeking to shore up the state's stability to avoid a repeat of the strife in 2010.

Earlier this summer, Ouattara's comments also raised talk of another possibility. Speaking with Jeune Afrique the two-term president said he believes the country's new constitution, passed in 2016 under boycott from the opposition, allows him to run for another term in office — despite the two-term limit established by the document. The implication being, as Reuters notes, that his two terms under the old constitution effectively don't count.

"I will only make a definitive decision then, based on the situation in Ivory Coast," Ouattara said in June, according to Reuters' translation. But, as if already aware of the eyebrows likely to be raised, he added: "Stability and peace come before all else, including my principles."

During his speech Monday, Ouattara made a plea to the newly forgiven convicts to use their new freedom to learn from past bloodshed.

"I invite all the beneficiaries of this amnesty to ensure that our country will never again relive such events," he said, "and never sink into violence again."
The government of Ivory Coast grants amnesty to former First Lady Simone Gbagbo a week after the Supreme Court of Ivory Coast [fr] overturned her acquittal for crimes against humanity.