Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has announced that he has instructed his lawyer, Emmanuel Altit, to reopen the case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) so that, in his words, those responsible for the Ivorian military and political crisis can be "fully established." The announcement appears in an open letter dated December 8, 2025 , addressed to the Ivorian people.

In this document, the former head of state looks back at length on the major stages of the political and military crisis that Côte d'Ivoire has experienced since the 2000s. He notably mentions the discovery of the Yopougon mass grave, the armed rebellion of September 2002, the partition of the country, the various international mediation processes as well as the 2010 presidential election.

Laurent Gbagbo recalls having, in his view, favoured measures to resolve the crisis, including the opening up of the political game and dialogue with the rebellion, which led to the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement in 2007. He also revisits the organisation of the 2010 presidential election in a context marked by the absence of complete disarmament of ex-combatants.

In his letter, the former president raises several major questions, notably concerning the financing of the rebellion , responsibility for the violence in the west of the country , and the role of the international community in the electoral process. He indicates that he has referred these issues to the ICC so that they can be examined within an international legal framework.

"The truth must come out. Justice must be done for the victims and survivors who have been waiting for years for the truth to be established," he writes, before adding that "truth is a condition for peace."

As a reminder, Laurent Gbagbo was definitively acquitted by the International Criminal Court in 2021 of charges of crimes against humanity related to the post-election violence of 2010-2011. Since his return to Ivory Coast, he has repositioned himself on the national political scene.