Belgium has agreed to host Laurent Gbagbo, former president of Ivory Coast, pending an appeal of his acquittal by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Prosecutors have argued that the former leader presented a flight risk and might not return to The Hague for the appeal hearing.  

Under his conditional release, Gbagbo will not be allowed to leave Belgium during the appeal process and he is prohibited from making any statements related to the case.

Gbagbo was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC in The Hague.

He had been charged with crimes against humanity in connection with violence following a disputed election run-off in 2010 which he had lost to his political rival, Alassane Ouattara.

The five months of violence that followed were described as some of the most brutal clashes the country had ever seen.

The violence in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, left 3,000 dead and 500,000 displaced.

Gbagbo was captured in 2011 in a presidential palace bunker by UN and French-backed forces supporting his rival, Alassane Ouattara.

Prosecutors said Gbagbo had clung to power “by all means” and charged him with four counts of crimes against humanity, murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and “other inhuman acts”.

He denied the charges, which he said were politically motivated.

ICC judges ruled last month that he had no case to answer and ordered his immediate release.