ICC to decide ex-President Gbagbo's fate

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HAGUE, Netherlands, March 1 (UPI) -- Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo told the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands he's innocent of charges that could be filed against him.

An eight-day hearing on allegations against Gbagbo concluded Thursday and the ICC will decide whether to charge him with crimes, court officials said.

Prosecutors asked the ICC to charge Gbagbo with the killing of 166 people and the raping of 34 women in post-election violence two years ago after he refused to accept defeat, News24 reported.

Gbagbo told the court he is innocent, the BBC reported.

"All my life, I fought for democracy," he said.

But prosecutors argued that the former leader devised a plan to intimidate his rivals through detention, killings and violence.

The three judges of the chamber said they will decide by the end of May whether to charge Gbagbo with crimes.