THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A former youth leader accused of involvement in murder, rapes and persecution during violence after Ivory Coast’s 2010 elections declared his innocence Thursday as he appeared for the first time at the International Criminal Court.

Charles Ble Goude looked confident, pumping his fist, waving and blowing a kiss to supporters in the public gallery at the brief hearing, the first since Ivory Coast authorities handed him over to the court in The Hague last week.