Trial of 'tired' country's Simone Gbagbo put on hold

An Ivory Coast court on Monday adjourned Simone Gbagbo's trial for crimes against humanity until October 10, after the former first lady complained she was too tired to proceed.

"When I sent for the defendant this morning, she made it known that she was very tired and she asked us to take account of her counsel's request to let her rest," state prosecutor Ali Yeo told the court in Abidjan.

Gbagbo, 67, has been on trial since May 31 for alleged crimes against humanity committed during a post-electoral crisis in 2010-11 when her husband Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat at the polls.

The hearing will resume on October 10, chief judge Kouadio Bouatchi ruled after the prosecutor called for a break during the country's judicial vacation. Proceedings were then adjourned.

Simone Gbagbo is already serving a 20-year jail term after she was convicted last year of state security offences committed during the five months of conflict that followed the election at a cost of more than 3,000 lives.

The winner of the disputed election, Alassane Ouattara, saw Laurent Gbagbo delivered in November 2011 to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where his trial for crimes against humanity began last January.