The wife or former Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo is on trial for her alleged involvement in the country’s post-election violence five years ago.
The BBC reports that Simone Gbagbo has been charged together with 82 supporters of her husband.
She has been charged with “attempting to undermine the security of the state” while her husband is also awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity.
Mrs Gbagbo has been under house arrest for the past three years and although she has been accused by the ICC, Ivory Coast has refused to hand her over despite several requests to do so.
She is therefore being tried in a domestic court in Ivory Coast.
In 2010, violence broke out following President Gbagbo’s refusal to hand over power to Alassane Ouattara after the latter was declared the winner after a presidential election.
The West African leader was ousted in 2011 with the help of French and UN forces backing President Ouattara.
About 3,000 citizens died in the violence which ensued after a run-off election in which Mr. Gbagbo lost.
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana