Former Ivorian President Gbagbo travels to Belgium after ICC acquittal

Belgium has agreed to host the former Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, after his acquittal at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

As part of his conditional release, Mr Gbagbo will not be allowed to leave Belgium while waiting for an appeal.

He was the first former head of state to be tried before the ICC.

He had been charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the violence after the disputed 2010 elections, which left 3,000 dead and 500,000 displaced.

Mr. Gbagbo was captured in 2011 in a presidential palace bunker by the UN and forces backed by France supporting his rival, Albadane Ouattara.

What was Mr Gbagbo accused of?

Violence in Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, took place after Gbagbo had refused to accept the fact that he had lost a second round of voting against Mr. Ouattara in 2010.

The five months of violence that followed were described as the most brutal confrontations ever observed in the country.

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Bloody clashes and targeted killings took place in Abidjan, in the south of the country, and several hundred people were mbadacred in the town of Duékoué, in the west of the country.

Prosecutors said Mr. Gbagbo had clung to power "by all means" and had charged him with four counts of crimes against humanity, murder, rape and kidnapping. other forms of badual violence, persecution and "other inhumane acts".

He denied the accusations, which he said were politically motivated.

The ICC judges decided last month that he had no business to answer and ordered his immediate release.

Will he be free to go home?

Prosecutors appealed and argued that the former leader posed a risk of absconding and was at risk of not returning to The Hague to appeal.

Friday's decision defines the conditions that Gbagbo must fulfill – from the return of his pbadport to the court, to the request for his authorization to go beyond the borders of the host municipality – and not to make statements in relationship with the case.

An ICC spokesman told the BBC that he could not confirm whether Mr. Gbagbo had left the ICC detention center.

A spokesman for the Belgian Foreign Ministry said that he did not know if the former leader had arrived in the country.