International Criminal Court judges on Tuesday acquitted former Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo of all war crimes charges and ordered his immediate release.
Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said that prosecutors failed to prove their case and Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Blé Goudé, a close ally and former political youth leader, should be set free.
He had been charged with crimes against humanity in connection with violence following a disputed election in 2010. Post-election violence left 3,000 dead.
Mr Gbagbo was captured in 2011 in a presidential palace bunker by UN and French-backed forces supporting his rival, Alassane Ouattara.
He was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
