Is Laurent Gbagbo guilty or innocent?

Former Ivory Coast president, Laurent Gbagbo’s trial officially began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on January 28, 2015. Gbagbo has been in custody since late 2011, and is being charged with crimes against humanity. He is accused of facilitating a four-month long civil war in the Ivory Coast after he lost the presidential election runoff to Alassane Ouattara on 28th November, 2010 and subsequently refused to step down as president. This led to a brutal post-election crisis that left at least 3000 people killed. Evidence adduced in this case points overwhelmingly towards President Laurent Gbagbo’s guilt for crimes against humanity.
To begin with, Laurent Gbagbo is being co-accused with Charles Ble Goude, former militia leader of Young Patriots, a pro-Gbagbo militia group on four accounts of crimes against humanity: murder, rape, persecution, and other inhumane acts. The two pleaded not guilty during the first hearing. During the trial, the ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda began by presenting video footage of violence as well as dead civilians on roadsides. One video footage, dated March, 3, 2010, shows Gbagbo forces shooting and killing a group of unarmed women at a pro-Ouattara rally. Another video shows pro-Gbagbo forces shooting at opposition supporters. The prosecutor goes on to explain that Gbagbo deliberately refused to step down sparking the violence.
Moreover, many accounts of Gbagbo forces and supporters killing people and raping women who supported Ouattara have been presented in the ICC. The prosecution has lined up about 180 witnesses to give personal accounts of events during the violence. Even though the capital Abidjan was the main point of crisis, places further away experienced violence, with many pro-Gbagbo groups killing people who were believed to be ethnically aligned to Ouattara or in support of him. The ICC Chief Prosecutor also emphasized that a speedy investigation of Ouattara’s role in the crisis was ongoing. The guilt is also proved by the accounts of the large number of witnesses lined up to appear to testify against the former Ivorian president in the trial. Thus, the conclusion at this point is that the evidence presented against Gbagbo and his co-accused points at them being guilty. The world watches keenly to see how the case progresses and is eventually concluded.