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Criminal court asks for war crimes probe in Ivory Coast

By the CNN Wire Staff
Pro-Ouattara forces pass a burnt house, during a patrol of a village between Blolequin and the Liberia border on April 21.
Pro-Ouattara forces pass a burnt house, during a patrol of a village between Blolequin and the Liberia border on April 21.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The prosecutor asked the judges to authorize a probe
  • In the application, sources said 3,000 people were killed
  • Months of bloodshed followed a disputed November election
  • Human Rights Watch urged a probe into earlier violence as well

(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court requested authorization Thursday to open an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ivory Coast during months of post-election turmoil.

In his application to the judges for authorization, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo cited sources who said at least 3,000 people were killed, 72 people disappeared and 520 others were subject to arbitrary arrest and detentions since the November 28 election that resulted in dispute.

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power even though challenger Alassane Ouattara was recognized as the winner. Months of bloodshed ensued, the political stalemate settled by Gbagbo's capture in April.

The prosecutor's office said sources also reported 100 cases of rape, though the number of unreported incidents is thought to be considerably higher.

The ICC prosecutor's decision underscores the importance of holding perpetrators to account for (Ivory Coast's) deadly spate of post-election violence.
--Elise Keppler, Human Rights Watch.
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"The reports quoted by the prosecution provide reasonable basis to believe that pro-Gbagbo forces and pro-Ouattara forces committed crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC," said a court statement Thursday.

The court said this was the first time it may open a case in a nation that is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. But Ivory Coast has accepted the jurisdiction of the court.

"President Ouattara sent a letter urging the prosecution to open the investigation and he is working closely with the regional organization ECOWAS to make sure that crimes do not go unpunished," the court's statement said.

Human Rights Watch urged the court to go beyond the latest wave of violence and look into other possible crimes committed during years of conflict and civil war.

"The ICC prosecutor's decision underscores the importance of holding perpetrators to account for (Ivory Coast's) deadly spate of post-election violence," said Elise Keppler, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.

The global monitoring group said human rights abuses began with violence-marred elections in 2000 and continued in a subsequent armed conflict. It said cases of murder, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers have been documented under the control of Gbagbo and the current prime minister, Guillaume Soro.

"No one has been credibly prosecuted for the crimes during this period, and a 2004 U.N. Commission of Inquiry report on crimes during the 2002-2003 conflict also has been kept secret," a Human Rights Watch statement said.

Regardless of actions taken by the International Criminal Court, fair and impartial domestic trials will be of utmost importance, the rights group said.