BBC News: Ivory Coast ex-President Gbagbo and Ble Goude Acquitted by ICC

 The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague have acquitted Ivory Coast ex-President Laurent Gbagbo. The court also ruled in favor of former youth minister, Ble Goude.

He had been charged with crimes against humanity in connection with violence following a disputed election in 2010. Post-election violence left 3,000 dead.

Mr Gbagbo was captured in 2011 in a presidential palace bunker by UN and French-backed forces supporting his rival, Alassane Ouattara.

He was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

ICC judges ruled that he had no case to answer because the prosecution had failed to prove several charges against him. They have ordered his immediate release.

The violence in 2010 in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, came after Mr Gbagbo refused to accept that he had lost a disputed election run-off to his rival, Alassane Ouattara.

The violence saw 500,000 people displaced.