Ivorian court to review Simone Gbagbo's case on March 17

A criminal court in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan; will on March 17 review the case of the country’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo who is charged with crimes against humanity, the AFP has said.

Her lawyer has kicked against the move and filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.

“The process to judge Simone Gbagbo for crimes against humanity and war crimes in a court based in Abidjan has been ongoing for quite a long time and it is about to yield results,” said the magistrate.

She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March 2015 for “attacking the authority of the State” during the 2010-2011 crisis in that country.

Considered as a major protagonist in the crisis, the former “Iron lady,” with a controversial personality, is also facing a case of “crimes against humanity” at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Despite several requests from the Hague for her transfer to face the charges, Abidjan had refused asserting it is capable of ensuring the former first lady faces justice locally.

“The criminal justice she would face in Abidjan is the same as that at the ICC. The principle of the ICC is you judge the person or you hand her back to us”, explained the magistrate.

Simone’s husband and former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo is currently being tried by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to the post-electoral violence of 2010.

Ivory Coast president, Alassane Ouattara had announced that from the beginning of February no Ivorian citizen would be sent to the ICC, explaining that the country now has an operational justice system.

Violence escalated in the West Africa country when former president, Laurent Gbagbo refused to recognize the victory of incumbent president Alassane Ouattara after the presidential election of November 2010. The violence led to the death of more than 300 people.