sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in a 2011 post-election
crisis in which around 3,000 people were killed.
Gbagbo, who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC),
was tried with 82 other allies of former President Laurent Gbagbo.
General Bruno Dogbo Ble, who headed the elite republican guard, and
former navy chief Admiral Vagba Faussignaux were also each jailed for
20 years, their lawyer said, while others including the ex-president's
son Michel got shorter sentences.
Supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to acknowledge his defeat
by Alassane Ouattara in elections in 2010 sparked a brief civil war,
claimed the trial was politically motivated.
Simone Gbagbo's lawyer, Rodrigue Dadje, told Reuters she had been
found guilty of crimes including disturbing the peace, organising
armed gangs and undermining state security
He said they would appeal against the verdict by the end of the week,
adding: "She is keeping her morale up since she was more or less
expecting this."
Her sentence, handed down in the early hours of Tuesday by a
six-member jury after nine hours of deliberations, was longer than the
10 years requested by the state prosecutor. Her civil rights will also
be suspended for 10 years, Dadje said.
Crimes Against Ivorian State
Laurent Gbagbo is awaiting trial at the ICC accused of crimes against
humanity. Cote D'Ivoire refused to transfer Simone Gbagbo to The Hague
to face similar charges, arguing that she could receive a fair trial
in a domestic court.
An ICC spokesman said her conviction in Cote D'Ivoire would not affect
the case before the world court, which he said would continue to seek
her extradition by Ouattara's government.
"Ms Gbagbo was convicted only of crimes against the Ivorian state, not
for the killings, rape and crimes against humanity for which she is to
be tried by the ICC," New York-based rights campaigner Human Rights
Watch said in a statement.
Pascal Affi N'Guessan, president of Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front
(FPI) party and seen as a potential candidate to challenge President
Ouattara in elections this year, was handed an 18-month sentence.
But, credited with time served, he was freed, as were nine
ex-government ministers and four journalists who had been among dozens
of Gbagbo's allies arrested after the violence in 2011.
Simone Gbagbo said on Monday prosecutors had insulted and humiliated
her while failing to prove her guilt.
"I'm prepared to forgive. I forgive because, if we don't forgive, this
country will burn," she said.
Though praised for his stewardship of Cote D'Ivoire's post-war
recovery, Ouattara has been accused by human rights groups of pursuing
one-sided justice against his former rivals while ignoring abuses
committed by his own supporters.
In the commercial capital Abidjan, reaction was divided, with some
calling for the release of Simone Gbagbo and the other defendants as a
gesture towards national reconciliation.
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