With our correspondent in Abidjan, Pierre Pinto

For weeks now, the president of the Collective of Victims of Crises in Ivory Coast, Issiaka Diaby, has been hammering home the point: he wants Laurent Gbagbo to be imprisoned upon his return to Abidjan. The former president is indeed facing a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called "BCEAO robbery" case, which according to Issiaka Diaby was used to finance the war in 2011.

"Whether it is the head of state, his son or the baker's wife, the law is equal for all. We are fighting against impunity, so that everyone answers for their actions before the law. This is a role entrusted to the whole of civil society and particularly to victims. Those who say we are not in our role when we demand that Laurent Gbagbo be prosecuted, they are certainly those who benefited from the financial fallout of the BCEAO robbery."

The CVCI reiterated its call on Tuesday. "We just heard that on the 17th, Laurent Gbagbo is returning. Upon his arrival, we will be at the airport to take action, to welcome him so that he is arrested and taken to the Maca (Abidjan House of Detention and Correction) in the context of the execution of court decisions condemning him to 20 years of imprisonment. Now, once at the Maca, he has the right to appeal, like all citizens, let him use it."

Issiaka Diaby also hopes to be able to bring prosecutions against Laurent Gbagbo for other events from the 2011 crisis, not tried by the ICC, because according to him investigations into certain crimes with no statute of limitations have been ongoing since 2013 by Ivorian justice.

"Several incidents that occurred in Ivory Coast are currently subject to investigations. Including investigations related to facts that have been and can be attributed to Laurent Gbagbo. The investigations have been ongoing since June 2013, the proceedings are open, victims have participated, witnesses have testified, the file is open and we are calling on victims and witnesses to come and participate. Those who say that the ICC has already tried and acquitted Laurent Gbagbo, we expect them to show us in the Court's decision whether Ivorian justice no longer has the right to act against Laurent Gbagbo if facts are attributed to him. There is this principle of complementarity."

To support his argument, Issiaka Diaby cites the conviction in absentia of Charles Blé Goudé to 20 years in prison by Ivorian justice for facts other than those tried by the ICC. Charles Blé Goudé co-defendant of Laurent Gbagbo in The Hague and acquitted like him.