Live: return of former President Laurent Gbagbo to Côte d’Ivoire

Published on : 06/17/2021 – 5:33 PM

Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is expected Thursday, June 17, in his country that he was forced to leave ten years ago, barely three months after his final acquittal of crimes against humanity by international justice.

He returned by a regular flight from Brussels where he has lived since his acquittal by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in January 2019, confirmed on appeal on March 31. Landing is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (local and GMT) in Abidjan. He will be welcomed at the presidential pavilion at the airport, made available to him by the Head of State, by leaders of his party, the Front populaire ivoirien (FPI). Several dozen notables should be present.

After his arrival, the ex-president will travel to the Attoban neighborhood, where his former campaign headquarters for the 2010 presidential election is located, according to an FPI statement inviting “members of the party leadership” to go there to welcome him.