The party official stated that the former president will return to Ivory Coast on June 17 after acquitting of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

The former President of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, plans to return home on June 17. Release According to his party, he was charged with crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The General Secretary of the People’s Front of Ivory Coast (FPI) Asoa Adu announced Gbagbo’s return date in front of a crowd celebrating the former president’s birthday in Abidjan on Monday.

Gbagbo served as president in 2000 until his arrest in 2011, turning 76 on Monday.

The International Criminal Court confirmed in March that Gbagbo and his assistant Charles Ble Goude had a clear understanding of the devastating post-election violence that shook West African countries in 2010 and 2011.

After the 2010 election, Gbagbo disputed the voting results won by the current President Alassane Ouattara and refused to step down. In months of fighting, more than 3,000 people were killed.

Gbagbo was eventually forced to step down.

He was arrested in April 2011 and was held in northern Ivory Coast before being transferred to the International Criminal Court.

He became the first head of state to be tried in court, although he and Blygood have always insisted that they did not commit crimes against humanity.

Despite being imprisoned in a Dutch city for several years and waiting for the outcome of his acquittal appeal in Brussels in 2019, the former president still has strong domestic support.

“He is the son of Côte d’Ivoire, and after 10 years in unfair conditions, he will come back,” said Leon Emmanuel Monnet, who organized the committee for his return.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that President Gbagbo returns peacefully and achieve reconciliation.”

The Ivorian court sentenced Gbagbo to 20 years in prison in absentia in November 2019 for embezzling funds from the regional central bank, so his return may still be complicated.

Ouattara stated in April that Gbagbo is Welcome back From The Hague, but did not say whether his predecessor has been pardoned.

Ouattara stated at a cabinet meeting that his government will bear Gbagbo’s travel expenses and “will take steps to ensure that he receives the benefits and allowances available to the former president”.