Summary Her husband, Laurent Gbagbo, was already transferred to the Hague-based court.
Amnesty International called on Ivory Coast to hand over former first lady Simone Gbagbo to the International Criminal Court "immediately" to face charges of crimes against humanity committed during the country s post-election crisis of 2010-2011.
Her husband, Laurent Gbagbo, was already transferred to the Hague-based court in November 2011, also accused of crimes against humanity.
"Simone Gbagbo must be transferred immediately by Cote d Ivoire to The Hague for an investigation into her alleged role in crimes against humanity," the London-based rights group said Saturday in a statement. The ICC on Thursday made public an arrest warrant that was issued for Simone Gbagbo in February and called on Ivory Coast to surrender her.
Ivory Coast is still recovering from a political and military crisis between December 2010 and April 2011 sparked by Laurent Gbagbo s refusal to step down after his arch-rival Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner of presidential elections.
The conflict left 3,000 people dead before Gbagbo was arrested and Ouattara assumed power.
In Saturday s statement, Amnesty noted that the ICC has so far issued arrest warrants only for figures in the pro-Gbagbo camp even though forces loyal Ouattara have also been accused of serious abuses.
"Justice must be delivered to victims on all sides," said Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty s law and policy programme. "This means that both the ICC and Ivorian justice system must fully investigate possible suspects on both sides and address the full range of crimes, including sexual violence."
Ivory Coast s justice minister said Thursday the government would officially respond to the ICC warrant "in due time".
