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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international tribunal has begun reviewing evidence to see whether there is sufficient cause to try an Ivory Coast man accused of helping run a terror campaign to keep the country's former president in power.
Prosecutors on Monday said Charles Ble Goude is suspected of involvement in scores of killings and rapes intended to shore up the contested regime of Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo claimed he was re-elected in a 2010 election though an independent electoral commission said challenger Alassane Outtara won. Hundreds of people died in clashes between supporters of the two men. Gbagbo was ultimately ousted.
Ble Goude, a pro-Gbagbo youth leader, is accused of crimes against humanity by prosecutors of the International Criminal Court, where Gbagbo is also awaiting trial.
Ble Goude, 42, was handed over to the ICC by Ivory Coast authorities in March. The three-judge tribunal in The Hague is supposed to rule on whether he should stand trial within 60 days.
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