- THE HAGUE: Ivory Coast's former President Laurent Gbagbo will appear before the International Criminal Court on Monday to face charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, the first former head of state to be tried by the ICC since its inception in 2002.
Gbagbo, 66, was arrested and flown Tuesday night from Ivory Coast to the Netherlands, where he was transferred to a detention center in The Hague.
About 3,000 people were killed and more than a million displaced in a four-month civil war in Ivory Coast after Gbagbo refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara in last year's election.
The court charged Gbagbo with individual criminal responsibility, as indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity — murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts.
He is likely to be joined by other high-level suspects from both sides of the conflict, the ICC prosecutor said.
"This is a warning to everyone who commits crimes (in order to)retain power," prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.
