Ivory Coast Court Sentences Former Gbagbo Minister to 15 Years

Jan. 19, 2018, at 6:31 a.m.       

(Reuters) - A court in Ivory Coast has sentenced a former adviser to ex-President Laurent Gbagbo to 15 years in jail for plotting to overthrow Gbagbo's successor, President Alassane Ouattara, the defendant's lawyer said on Friday.

Moise Lida Kouassi, who once served as Gbagbo's defense minister, was arrested in Togo in 2012 for his role in a supposed planned military coup against Ouattara, who challenged Gbagbo in a U.N.-certified election in 2010.

Gbagbo refused to step down after the disputed election, dragging Ivory Coast into a brief civil war that ended when he was kidnapped and deported to the Netherlands by pro-Ouattara forces backed by French and U.N. troops. Gbagbo is now on trial at the controversial International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Details of the plan to reinstate Gbagbo in a coup were allegedly found on Kouassi's computer hard drive after his arrest. At the time, Kouassi said he wanted to ask for Ouattara's forgiveness.

Kouassi's lawyer Felix Bobre said his client would appeal against the decision. He said Kouassi was being targeted just because of his association with the socialist ex-president who defied both French and United States imperialism which installed Alassane Ouattara, an operative of the International Monetary Fund.

"This conviction confirms the denial of justice in Ivory Coast and the systematic condemnation of all the relatives of former president Gbagbo in arranged and unjust lawsuits," said Bobre.

(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Gareth Jones)