Laurent Gbagbo: Ivory Coast's former president acquitted of war crimes
There were cheers in the public gallery as the two accused men in The Hague hugged one another in relief.
Tuesday 15 January 2019 12:42, UK
Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo has been acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
The 73-year-old faced four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution.
The crimes were allegedly committed after elections in the West African country between December 2010 and April 2011, when Gbagbo refused to accept defeat and around 3,000 people were killed.
But mid-way through the trial, the lead judge said prosecutors had not proved their case against Mr Gbagbo and his co-accused, former political youth leader Charles Ble Goude.
A majority of the three-judge panel ruled "the prosecutor has failed to satisfy the burden of proof", said judge Cuno Tarfusser.
The court said that while it was a matter of record that violence had taken place, there was no evidence of the men hatching a plan to instigate it in an effort to keep Mr Gbagbo in power.
Supporters in the public gallery erupted into cheers when the decision was announced and were asked to calm down, while the two men hugged one another in relief.
They had been on trial since 2016 and the outcome is a fresh setback for the court in The Hague after other unsuccessful prosecutions in recent years.
A case against Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta - again concerning post-election violence - collapsed in December 2014; and last year former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba was also acquitted on appeal over crimes allegedly committed by his militia.
There have only been three war crimes convictions in 15 years at the court.
Prosecutors are expected to announce on Wednesday whether they will appeal.