Laurent Gbagbo

Koudou Laurent Gbagbo^{[note 2][1]} (Gagnoa Bété: Gbagbo [ɡ͡baɡ͡bo]; French pronunciation: ​[loʁɑ̃ baɡbo]; born 31 May 1945) is an Ivorian politician who was the President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. Gbagbo was arrested in 2011 by pro-Ouattara forces, who were supported by French troops.^[2] Gbagbo was extradited to The Hague in November 2011, where he was charged with four counts of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the post-election violence.^[3][4] Gbagbo was the first former head of state to be taken into the court's custody. In January 2019, an ICC panel dismissed the charges against Gbagbo and one of his former ministers, Charles Blé Goudé, determining that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove that the pair committed crimes against humanity.^[3][4] Prosecutors appealed the decision, and Gbagbo was prohibited from returning to Côte d'Ivoire pending the appeal proceedings.^[5] The ICC ultimately upheld Gbagbo's acquittal, and in April 2021, Ouattara stated he and Blé Goudé were free to return to the country.^[6]