Former Ivory Coast President On Trial In Hague Crimes Against Humanity

Laurent Gbagbo, former president of the Ivory Coast, pleaded not guilty to the charges as part of the first trial of a former head of state at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Gbagbo is accused alongside former youth minister, Charles BleGoude, of involvement in atrocities that left 3,000 people dead after a disputed 2010 presidential election runoff in the former French colony.

Former African president on trial, for alleged crimes against humanity, in an international court in Holland will inevitably lead to speculators lunging for chocolate.

More specifically, cocoa the main ingredient of the drug-like confectionery.

Once a beacon of stability close to war-torn Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Ivory Coast fell into near chaos until French forces were dispatched to restore order and impose Alessane Ouattara, Gbagbo's political rival, who had won elections in 2010.

The West African nation produces more cocoa than any other country on earth – by a very large margin – around 1.8 million tons a year.

Ghana, the next biggest producer, manages about half that. More than a quarter of the global production of cocoa comes from Ivorian farms.

At The Hague, both men listened intently as a court officer read out allegations that they plotted to keep Gbagbo in power "by all necessary means, including by committing the crimes charged".

Cocoa futures traders will be more eagerly watching the behaviour of their supporters back home.

Gbagbo remains popular among some Ivorians.

Dozens massed outside the court ahead of the trial, which is expected to last many months, to show their support for him.