Ivory Coast President Pardons Political Rival Laurent Gbagbo
- Gbagbo faced 20-year imprisonment for breach of central bank
- Ivory Coast sees 7% growth in 2022 on investments, reforms
Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.
Photographer: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images
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Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has pardoned his predecessor and political rival, former President Laurent Gbagbo.
Gbagbo, who still faced a 20-year prison sentence for breaking into a branch of the regional central bank during the country’s 2011 post-election conflict, was pardoned in order “to strengthen social cohesion,” Ouattara said in his Independence Day address on Saturday.