In a decision issued on Thursday May 28, the ICC Appeals Chamber decided to revoke part of the conditions of release imposed on Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé.
According to the ICC Appeal Chamber’s statement, the former president of Côte d’Ivoire and his minister will no longer be prevented from moving outside the boundaries of the municipality in which they reside. They will no longer have to surrender to the Registry all the identity documents in their possession, in particular their passports. They will no longer have to report weekly to the authorities of the host State or to the Registry. They will no longer have to comply with any other conditions imposed by the State in which they will be released. The other conditions remain in force.
Said simply, this means that Charles Blé Goudé and Laurent Gbagbo are much freer in their movements than they were before. The two men can therefore go and live in one of the 134 states parties to the Rome constitution and thus in Côte d’Ivoire, provided that the authorities of the country agree to receive them. Lawyers of the former Ivorian president welcomed this decision on Thursday evening, which they described as excellent for the defense and for Laurent Gbagbo.
Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude were both cleared of crimes against humanity a year ago, eight years after the former West African strongman’s arrest and transfer to the Hague-based court.