The Politician and one of the pillars of the regime of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, Charles Blé Godet, returned to his country, Ivory Coast, on Saturday, after he was acquitted by the international court.
Gode landed at Abidjan Airport on a commercial flight from Accra, Ghana, where he was greeted by many people, including former First Lady Simone Gbagbo.
His supporters were waiting for him on Saturday afternoon in the popular Yopougon area of the capital, Abidjan, to hold a “party”, which close associates said would not be a “political meeting”.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, along with former President Laurent Gbagbo, acquitted Charles Blé Godet in March 2021 of the charges brought against him in connection with the post-election crisis in 2010-2011.
Gbagbo’s disputing of the credibility of Hassan Ouattara’s victory in the presidency led to a crisis that resulted in 3,000 deaths and then to the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo in April 2011.
Blé Godet was arrested in 2013 in Ghana, then transferred the following year to The Hague after months of house arrest in Abidjan.
Nearly a year after his acquittal, he obtained a passport from the Ivory Coast authorities last May, which gave him the green light to return.