THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday over a wave of post-electoral violence, in a stunning blow to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Judges ordered the immediate release of the 73-year-old deposed strongman, the first head of state to stand trial at the troubled ICC, and his former youth leader Charles Ble
Goude, 47.
Gbagbo faced charges of crimes against humanity over the 2010-2011 bloodshed following a disputed vote the West African nation in which around 3,000 people were killed. Prosecutors said Gbagbo clung to power "by all means" after he was narrowly defeated by his bitter rival—now president — Alassane Ouattara in elections in the world´s largest cocoa producer.