Gbagbo blames France in first ICC appearance

Criminal Court where he blamed the French military for his arrest for crimes against humanity.
Gbagbo, the first ex-president to be brought before The Hague-based tribunal, faces four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, over post-election violence the UN said left about 3 000 people dead.
The 66-year-old said his arrest by followers of his rival and current president Alassane Ouattara in April was the direct result of a bombing campaign by France, Cote d’lvoire’s former colonial ruler.
“Good afternoon madame president, thank you for letting me speak. I am Laurent Gbagbo. I was arrested under French bombs,” said Gbagbo, who was transferred to The Hague from his northern Ivorian jail cell last Wednesday. “It was the French army that did the job.”
Judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi said Gbagbo must reappear on June 18 for a confirmation of charges hearing when he will learn whether he must stand trial for crimes committed by his troops after he refused to accept defeat in a November 2010 presidential run-off.
At the next hearing prosecutors must convince the judges they have enough evidence to take him to trial over the charges of murder, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has promised an “impartial investigation” aimed at three to six people and said after Gbagbo’s transfer: “This is just the beginning.”
The Hague-based court, founded in 2002, is the first permanent international criminal tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ICC’s six other cases also relate to crimes committed in Africa. – AFP.