Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday ordered the conditional release of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo.

Reading a unanimous decision by the five-judge panel, presiding judge Chile Eboe-Osuji ordered Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Ble Goude "to be released to a state willing to accept them on its territories".

The men were acquitted of atrocities charges on Jan. 15 but had been kept in detention pending objections by prosecutors, who plan to appeal the acquittal and sought guarantees that the men would return to court later if required.