Ivory Coast e_-first lady pardoned

ABIDJAN - Ivory Coast’s Mailed former first lady Simone Gbagbo has been granted amnesty by the president in what he says is a move to foster reconciliation.

In 2015, 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.

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 President Gbagbo refusing to accept that he lost a disputed election run-off to Ouattara.

The Gbagbos 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.

Simone *bagbo

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

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.

She and her husband have always maintained their innocence, saying the cases against them were political.