World
Ivory Coast’s Former First Lady Simone Gbagbo Jailed
Simone Gbagbo, wife of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges including murder, rape and persecution. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)
(BBC) – Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections.
Gbagbo, 65, had been charged with undermining state security.
Her husband, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
More than 3,000 people died in the violence that followed the presidential poll after the ex-leader refused to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara.
She and her husband were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.
