Former President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D’Ivoire who was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on corruption charges, was at the weekend granted presidential pardon by his successor, President Alassane Ouattara. President Ouattara in the 62nd independence anniversary broadcast, had declared: “In the interests of strengthening social cohesion, I have signed a decree granting a presidential pardon,” which Gbagbo was the principal beneficiary. President Ouattara had held a meeting with former President Gbagbo and former President Henri Konan Bedie on July 14 on the release of Gbagbo.
President Ouattara also ordered the unfreezing of Gbagbo’s bank accounts, including payment of his life annuity and other benefits.
The President disclosed he further signed a decree for the conditional release of two of closest allies Gbagbo who former Chief of Naval Staff, Vagba Faussignaux, and a former commander of a gendarmerie unit, Jean-Noel Abehi, who were convicted for their roles in the post-election violence.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) had tried and acquitted Gbagbo on allegations of war crimes during the 2011 violence after Gbagbo declined to accept Ouattara’s victory in presidential election.
Later in 2018, a court in Cote D’Ivoire convicted and sentenced Gbagbo to 20 years imprisonment in absentia on allegations of looting the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) during the post-election conflicts.
President Ouattara emphasized that they had a “fraternal meeting” where he and the two former presidents “discussed, in a friendly atmosphere, matters of the national interest and the ways and means of consolidating peace in our country”.
Gbagbo and Bedie were invited to the independence day celebrations which held at Yamoussoukro, on Sunday.