Court rejects Simone Gbagbo's appeal against 20-year jail term

Ivory Coast’s supreme court has rejected former first lady Simone Gbagbo’s appeal against a 20-year sentence handed to her last year.

The former first lady was charged with undermining state security for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections which left more than 3,000 people dead.

She was tried with 78 co-defendants for their part in the crisis caused by the refusal of her husband and former president Laurent Gbagbo to recognise Alassane Ouattara’s victory in the November 2010 presidential poll.

Simone Gbagbo is also due to stand trial on May 31 in Abidjan on charges of crimes against humanity related to the wave of post-election violence.

Simone Gbagbo’s to face trial in Ivory Coast for crimes against humanity https://t.co/NTY55MIZwX

— africanews (@africanews) March 18, 2016

Laurent Gbagbo is currently on trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes also linked to the unrest that followed his refusal to step down.