Former first lady of Ivory Coast claims she suffered rape attempt

 

Ivory Coast: Wife of former President Laurent Gbagbo and former first lady of Ivory Coast Simone Gbagbo on Wednesday denied charges of crimes against humanity during the political violence that erupted in 2010 claiming she had suffered attempted rape while in detention.

"I stand before this court on the demand of the government and for crimes that I did not commit," she said.

"I am accused of facts that have not been proven. And not only that -- I am accused of direct involvement," she said.

The former first lady said she also suffered an attempted rape when she and her husband were arrested on April 11, 2011 claiming French soldiers deployed in Ivory Coast recorded the attempted rape.

Simone Gbagbo is facing trial for planning and organizing rights abuses against opposition  supporters in 2010.

Gbagbo who refused to admit defeat to his rival in 2010 is presently facing trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Simone Gbagbo hits out at the president of Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara, for instigating the 2010 bloodshed.

"The post-election crisis was born from the refusal of Alassane Ouattara, with the help of French authorities, to respect the constitution of Ivory Coast," she claimed.

"Personally, I arrived at the Golf hotel with my buttocks exposed, naked, and I suffered several attempts to rape me in broad daylight ... and all this in the presence of French soldiers who were filming this,".