Post-Election Violence: Former Ivorian First Lady Gets 20 Years Jail Term!

Former Ivorian First Lady, Simone Gbagbo was on Tuesday found guilty of charges relating to electoral violence by an Ivorian court. The charges bordered on her role in a 2011 post-election crisis which led to the death of about 3,000 people. Mrs. Gbagbo was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

According to her attorney, Simone Gbagbo, who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, was tried along with 82 other allies of her husband, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo. Rodrigue Dadje confirmed that “the jury members retained all the charges against her, including disturbing the peace, forming and organising armed gangs and undermining state security.”
Michel Gbagbo, a son of the former President was also convicted and sentenced to a 5-year-jail term. 
Violence had broken out after Laurent Gbagbo, the then president refused to acknowledge defeat in the 2010 presidential elections won by Alaissane Outarra. He is presently awaiting trial at the ICC, having been accused of crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the violence that shook the country after the polls.
The Ivorian government had refused to send Mrs. Gbagbo to The Hague for trial, stating that she would be given a fair trial on Ivorian soil.