Ivory Coast’s ex-president returns after International Criminal Court acquittal

Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo (AP/Jerry Lampen, Pool)

Former president Laurent Gbagbo has returned to Ivory Coast a decade after his refusal to concede defeat in a presidential election sparked months of violence that left more than 3,000 people dead.

Mr Gbagbo was extradited to the International Criminal Court at The Hague in 2011 and spent eight years awaiting trial on war crimes charges. A judge acquitted him in 2019, saying prosecutors had failed to prove their case.