Former first lady sentence to 20 years in prison

onnaedo

March 10, 2015 10:50 AM

The former first lady, who was once called the "Iron Lady" was accused of disturbing public order and organising armed gangs, amongst other things.

Former Ivorien First Lady, Simone Gbagbo is set to spend the next 20 years in jail after being found guilty of undermining state security and inciting violence following the 2010 elections in Ivory Coast.

Over 3,000 people died in the violence that followed the presidential poll after her husband and ex-leader, Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara.

The pair were arrested subsequently in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker in Abidjan where they had taken refuge.

Meanwhile the ex-president Gbagbo, is currently awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court, The Hague where he's facing four charges including murder, rape and persecution.

The former first lady, who was once called the "Iron Lady" was also accused of disturbing public order and organising armed gangs.

The court unanimously sentenced her to 20 years, twice as long as the prosecutors had asked for.

Daughter, Marie Antoinette Singleton, has however described the sentence as unfair and a sign of "political justice".

She said:

"Why would you want to double it? It's not about justice, it's about getting rid of political adversaries. If we say that something wrong happened, it happened on both sides. Nobody looked into bringing all responsible parties to trial"

Gbagbo's lawyer has said they would appeal the sentence.

onnaedo