Accra - A court in Ghana on Wednesday released from custody the spokesman of ex-Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo, but Justin Kone Katinan still faces an extradition hearing next month.
Katinan was first arrested in Ghana on August 24 on an Ivorian warrant for economic crimes allegedly committed while serving as Gbagbo's budget minister during the country's deadly post-election crisis last year.
He was granted bail on September 25 as Ghanaian prosecutors sought to extradite him.
He was re-arrested three days later and charged with murder under Ghanaian law, a seemingly unorthodox procedural move as the alleged killings took place in Ivory Coast.
"Tell me the law under which the Republic of Ghana can institute an action against someone who committed a crime outside Ghana?" Magistrate Ali Baba Bature said, rejecting the state's request for him to be kept in custody.
"At best, (Ivory Coast) can request for the extradition of the accused to seek trial there," the judge said. "Accused, you are free."
Bature had in previous hearings told prosecutors that they needed to combine the cases against Katinan into one extradition process, but prosecutors again on Wednesday pleaded for more time, saying they were not yet ready to drop the murder charges.
Bature's ruling effectively restored the bail that had been previously granted by the court in the extradition case, which initially involved economic crimes allegedly committed in Ivory Coast.
Free from custody, Katinan was driven by his lawyer to another court for an extradition hearing. A clerk said magistrate Aboagye Tandoh was not available and the case was adjourned to November 7.
Katinan was among thousands of Gbagbo's supporters who fled to neighbouring Ghana after the fall of his regime.
Gbagbo's refusal to cede power after losing 2010 elections to rival Alassane Ouattara led to a five-month crisis in which more than 3 000 people were killed. - Sapa-AFP
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