Gbagbo behind bars

Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo will remain behind bars after prosecutors have appealed his acquittal for crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague acquitted him on Tuesday and ordered his immediate release.

But on Wednesday, prosecutors challenged the decision to release him, arguing that Gbagbo could flee.

They said that he might not appear in court if his acquittal was to be rescinded.

Gbagbo was charged with crimes against humanity for violence following the disputed 2010 elections, which left 3,000 dead and 500,000 internally displaced.

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

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

"Pending the decision of the Appeals Chamber on this prosecutor's request [Mr Gbagbo] will remain under the custody of the ICC, "said a spokesman for the court in a statement.

"There is a concrete risk that, once released, the accused will not appear to prosecute the case," prosecutors wrote in a document.

A decision on their appeal is expected Thursday.

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Photo caption: Mr. Gbagbo's acquittal triggered court celebrations

Image caption: But this sparked protests from opponents of the former president

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.

Bloody clashes and targeted killings took place in Abidjan, in the south of the country, and several hundred of them were slaughtered 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 "inhumane acts".

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

Photo caption: Victims of 2010 post-election violence oppose Gbagbo's release

ICC judges ruled on Tuesday that prosecutors had not demonstrated "the existence of a" common plan "to keep Gbagbo in power," which included crimes against civilians.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said the prosecution had also "failed to show that Mr. Gbagbo's public speeches constituted an order or an incitement to commit the alleged crimes".

Is his acquittal a blow to the ICC?

"Whenever a case involving mbad atrocities collapses at the ICC level, it undermines the perception of the Court as a credible and effective institution of international justice," he said. told BBC Anna Holligan Mark Kersten, author of Justice in Conflict.

"Many fear that the court will become an institution where only rebels can be successfully prosecuted," he added.

Prosecutions before the ICC have also failed in their attempts to successfully prosecute former DRC Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

On the other hand, the judgment demonstrates the independence and impartiality of the judges and makes it more difficult to put forward the narrative, popular among those who fear the long arm of the ICC, according to which the Court is a skewed weapon of neo-colonial justice used solely to condemn African leaders, our correspondent said.