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ICC Demands Former First Lady of Ivory Coast for Trial


FILE - Simone Gbagbo, wife of Laurent Gbagbo, reacts during a pro-Gbagbo rally in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Nov. 22, 2012.
FILE - Simone Gbagbo, wife of Laurent Gbagbo, reacts during a pro-Gbagbo rally in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Nov. 22, 2012.

The International Criminal Court said Ivory Coast must hand over Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo, to face charges of genocide from the country's civil war.

The ICC issued a statement Thursday summoning the former first lady to court, although Ivory Coast has refused to turn her over to the Hague-based tribunal in the past, saying it will try her in a domestic court.

Simone Gbagbo faces charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and other sexual violence, and other "inhumane acts."

The Ivory Coast government had submitted a legal challenge to the ICC request for Simone Gbagbo in September. Thursday's ruling was the defeat of that challenge.

Simone Gbagbo's husband, Laurent, and youth leader Charles Ble Goude are already in the ICC detention center.

Ivory Coast could face sanctions by the other ICC member states, if the dispute over Simone Gbagbo is not resolved.

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