The former Ivorian minister, Charles Blé Goudé, who was waiting for his passport to return to his native country, after his acquittal of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2021, won his case, reports a press release from his lawyer, Me N’dry Claver.
Monday, May 30, an « ordinary passport » was given to him by the ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to the Netherlands, Hamza Sallah, in The Hague. The former minister thanked President Alassane Ouattara « for his personal involvement in the process of his return to Côte d’Ivoire ». His defense « will maintain the thread of dialogue with the Ivorian authorities to agree on a return schedule », explains the press release.
As a reminder, Blé Goudé had faced the ICC in the context of the post-election crisis of 2010-2011 which left some 3,000 dead; as well as former President Laurent Gbagbo who had obtained the passport earlier and returned to Côte d’Ivoire in June 2021.
But the former minister is still under the influence of the Ivorian justice system which sentenced him, in absentia at the end of 2019, to 20 years in prison, for “acts of torture, intentional homicides and rape” during the post-election crisis. He had also been sentenced to 10 years of deprivation of his civic rights, in addition to 200 million CFA francs (€300,000) in damages to be paid to the victims of the crisis.
What will justice have in store for him when he returns? The question has not yet been raised. However, Laurent Gbagbo who had also been sentenced by the Ivorian justice has not yet been worried since he returned to his country.
By OMA Newsletter N° 722 of 05/31/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
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Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
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