Brussels, 26/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 April, the General Court of the EU upheld sanctions imposed by the EU in December 2010 against Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, including an assets freeze and travel ban (see EUROPE 10833). The General Court rejected all appeals submitted by Mrs Gbagbo and by Marcel Gossio, the former director general of the autonomous port of Abidjan, who is also subject to European sanctions. The EU Court of Justice has upheld sanctions against Laurent Gbagbo.
In its ruling, the General Court affirms that the EU had provided sufficient motivation for the measures taken against Gbagbo's wife, at the time president of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) at the Ivorian National Assembly. The EU had considered that she was guilty of obstructing the peace and reconciliation process in Côte d'Ivoire. The General Court ruled that the sanctions taken against Gossio were justified as Gossio had refused to place himself under the authority of the elected president, Alassane Ouattara. Mrs Gbagbo is currently being held in Côte d'Ivoire and is subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity during the violence that took place in 2010-2011. Gossio is in exile. Laurent Gbagbo has been held in The Hague by the ICC since end 2011. (LC/transl.jl)