Resuming work after a break of ten days, the trial of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé before the International Criminal Court (ICC) was marked by a closed session hearing on Monday, November 27, 2017.

A closed session to finish and a closed session to resume. The trial of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé reopened this Monday, November 27, in The Hague, the seat of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

As in the previous hearings on November 16th, the proceedings of this Monday were not public. The trial was held in closed session.

It must be remembered that this measure is decided upon by the judges most of the time, at the request of one of the parties to ensure the safety of a witness. The hearing continues this Tuesday, November 28.

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Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé are charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and other inhumane acts, or – in the alternative – attempted murder and persecution. The accused allegedly committed these crimes during post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire between December 16, 2010 and April 12, 2011.

This summary comes from Ivoire Justice, which offers monitoring and commentary on the ICC’s proceedings arising from the post-election violence that occurred in Cote d’Ivoire in 2010-2011. It has been translated into English for use on International Justice Monitor.