Lawyers for former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo argued Thursday that the "elderly and fragile" suspect should be freed on bail as his trial for crimes against humanity in The Hague drags on.
Gbagbo, 73, has spent seven years in detention at the International Criminal Court, accused of fomenting bloodshed after refusing to accept defeat in elections in the West African nation in 2010.
About 3,000 people died in clashes during what prosecutors say was an attempt by Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Ble Goude to ignore the internationally recognised victory of Gbagbo's bitter rival Alassane Outtara.
Gbagbo's lawyer Emmanuel Altit insisted that Gbagbo -- the first head of state to be handed over to the ICC -- would pose no flight risk if he was released from custody while on trial.
"In what kind of world would a 73-year-old man known throughout the entire world, suffering from various health problems, have the slightest interest in going underground? This makes no sense," Altit told the court.
Altit also argued that Gbagbo was ageing faster because of the length of time he had spent behind bars.
"We are not talking about being held for a year, we are talking about being held for seven years, and this is particularly the case when the person in question is elderly and fragile," Altit said.
"Lack of exercise, lack of social interaction, these problems make the person weaker, and... an elderly person held in detention ages faster," he added.
ICC judges rejected another application for bail by Gbagbo as recently as April. The court must hold hearings on the matter at least once a year but can do so more often if it wishes.
Thursday's hearing was scheduled to be behind closed doors but was opened to the public at the last minute.
The court is still dealing with a separate application to have Gbagbo completely acquitted on the grounds that there is not enough evidence to proceed with the trial.
Prosecutors said there was no reason to overturn the decision eight months ago to keep Gbagbo and Ble Goude's locked up.
"There are no changed circumstances that would justify modifying his detention since the last review," senior trial lawyer Eric Macdonald told the court.
Presiding judge Cuno Tarfusser said the court was expected to rule on the bail application on Friday.
Gbagbo was finally arrested after a months-long standoff by Ouattara's troops aided by UN and French forces, and turned over to the ICC in 2011.
The defence said in November that his trial had descended into "fake reality" and that prosecutors had distorted history about the violence in the Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer.
