IVORY COAST has pulled out of the African Human Rights and People’s Court after it called for the suspension of an arrest warrant against presidential candidate Guillaume Soro, who was jailed for 20 years on Tuesday.

The decision was taken following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday with government spokesman Sidi Toure telling reporters: “We respect our international commitments, but we also appreciate our sovereignty.”

Amnesty International (AI) hit out at the decision branding it “a step backwards for human rights in Cote d’Ivoire.”

It criticised the withdrawal, which means that NGOs and individuals will no longer be able to refer directly to the court in cases involving the government.

But the government insisted that the court had committed “serious and intolerable actions” by undermining Ivory Coast’s national sovereignty and the rule of law.

Mr Soro is the former prime minister and commander of a rebel force that helped current President Alassane Ouattara come to power in 2010.

But he has been accused of plotting a coup against Mr Ouattara and of embezzlement and money laundering.

Mr Soro faced trial on Tuesday but boycotted the hearing. He was sentenced to 20 years in absentia by a court in the capital, Abidjan.

Ivory Coast Foreign Minister Ally Coulibaly accused the African Human Rights and People’s Court of making “a political decision” about Mr Soro’s case.

He said the decision “confers a certain criminal immunity on someone who wants to be a candidate in the next elections. This is unacceptable.”

“We have well-functioning courts. Our justice is impartial. We cannot accept that our jurisdictions are weakened because of this adherence to this protocol of recognition of jurisdiction.”

AI condemned the “frontal attack on human rights” which “comes in a pre-electoral context where the Ivorian government has multiplied its attacks on political opponents and dissident voices.”