Ghana frees ally of Gbagbo, drops murder charge

A court in Ghana released a top ally of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo on Wednesday after dismissing charges brought by Ivorian authorities that he murdered two men during last year’s post-election civil war.Allegations that pro-Gbagbo exiles in Ghana have masterminded a rash of armed raids on security and infrastructure targets in Ivory Coast in recent months have strained relations between the two West African neighbours.Justin Kone Katinan, Gbagbo’s former budget minister, was arrested in August on an international warrant accusing him of financial crimes.After being released on bail, he was re-arrested and charged with two killings allegedly committed at the height of the conflict, which erupted after Gbagbo refused to accept the victory of rival Alassane Ouattara in a poll in late 2010.“Unless you can tell me a reason how legally you are able to initiate proceedings against Mr Katinan, I have no option but to release him...You are free,” Judge Ali Baba Bature told a court in Ghana’s capital Accra, dismissing the murder charges.Katinan still faces possible extradition to Ivory Coast on the earlier warrant which accuses him of organising raids on 10 Ivorian banks during the election crisis and stealing a total of around 300 billion CFA francs.His extradition hearing is scheduled to continue on November 7.“The outcome doesn’t surprise us. We believe they were trumped up charges to send Mr Katinan into the hands of the powers that be in his country,” Katinan’s lawyer Patrick Sogbodjor told Reuters, referring to the murder case.