Since then, the former minister has been convicted in absentia several times by the Ivorian justice system. But on the ICC side, this second part of the investigation has been slipping for years. In question? Cooperation, explains the deputy prosecutor.
Obstacle course and cooperation
« The investigation is an exploratory activity, souligne Mandiaye Niang. We explore, we follow leads, we identify people. But as for seeing these people come, cooperate with us, give us the evidence, as for having access to certain information, whether it be telephone reports or something else (…) It’s all a real obstacle course. “. ICC investigators do not have the police powers to carry out searches, issue subpoenas and arrest suspects. “ We are a distant investigative authority “, explains Mandiaye Niang and “ we must count on the cooperation of States “. Random cooperation, even if it is obligatory for States which have ratified the Court’s treaty, as Ivory Coast did in 2013.
At the time of the investigations against Laurent and Simone Gbagbo (the former first lady of the country) and against Charles Blé Goudé (Ivorian Minister of Youth at the time of the events), the Ivorian authorities “ helped us a lot », recalls the Senegalese magistrate. The prosecutor’s office opened the first part of its Ivory Coast case a few weeks after the end of the violence which shook the country between December 2010 and May 2011.
Indicted for crimes against humanity, Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé were acquitted in January 2019. Following the acquittal of the two men, the prosecutor withdrew the arrest warrant issued against Simone Gbagbo. The latter was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Abidjan court for endangering state security, but was finally granted amnesty in 2018. We are bound to a certain rigor “, says Mandiaye Niang. The judges are waiting for solid evidence, and with the Gbagbo affair, the prosecutor’s office has already suffered a bitter failure.
Relaunch cooperation
From the start, the second part of the investigations has been much more chaotic. “ We continue to have access to the territory », nevertheless specifies the Senegalese magistrate who intends to relaunch cooperation with Abidjan. “ We plan to reconnect with the authorities, to see to what extent we can make this cooperation even more fluid. “, said Mandiaye Niang cautiously. He hopes to be able to go there in the coming weeks. The prosecutor’s office is also seeking cooperation from the UN, particularly in questioning ” former United Nations contingents “. Is the Court also demanding the cooperation of France, which had deployed the Licorne force, a military operation in Ivory Coast from 2002 to 2015? The deputy prosecutor remained vague but indicated that as with any investigation, certain acts take place outside the territory concerned.
The prosecutor’s office’s targets are confidential, and Mr. Niang did not say when arrest warrants would be issued. He nevertheless says he wants to close the investigation during the year 2025. This will not prevent investigators from continuing their investigations, but they will be limited to the targets already defined.
Will the potential suspects then be judged in The Hague or Abidjan? The ICC only intervenes as a last resort, if a State does not have the logistical means or the political will to conduct trials on its soil. For years, the Ivorian government has said it wants to judge at home. But if Côte d’Ivoire asks the Court to relinquish jurisdiction, it will have to demonstrate that it is itself carrying out proceedings against the same people as those targeted by the ICC, and for the same facts. “If that happens, so much the better. comments the deputy prosecutor. But there have been amnesty laws and there have been statements that do not seem to indicate that the targets we are interested in are being investigated. ».
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