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Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo (L) and his wife Simone sit in a room at Hotel Golf in Abidjan, after they were arrested, April 11, 2011. Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo goes on trial at the International Criminal Court on Thursday, the most senior politician to do so since the global war crimes tribunal was set up 13 years ago. Accused of unleashing a civil war that killed 3,000 people after he refused to accept losing a re-election bid in 2010, Gbagbo remains an influential figure at home and his trial could rekindle tensions in the world’s largest cocoa grower. Gbagbo, 70, and his co-accused, youth leader Charles Ble Goude, 44, face four counts, including a campaign of rape and murder aimed at hanging onto power. Both men deny the charges, which carry maximum sentences of life imprisonment. Gbagbo’s supporters say he is a victim of collusion between France and current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, who won the election and took office after a military intervention by the former colonial power ended the four-month civil war. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)
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