Europe

Gbagbo's pal: He'll choose death over humiliation

Gbagbo the Ivorian strongman reads Latin and Greek in the original and is active Christian

A man who's been friends for decades with Laurent Gbagbo says the Ivorian strongman reads Latin and Greek in the original, and may prefer to die than live in ignominy now that he's surrounded by his rival's forces.

In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Guy Labertit showed dozens of snapshots of Gbagbo taken at the beginning of their friendship in the early 1980s when he was seeking political asylum in France.

Labertit used only the most glowing terms to describe his friend, painting him as a spiritual and erudite man, learned in classical languages.

"On a human level, he's a generous man ... (who's) perhaps too quick to trust others," he said. "I'd say he's paying that excess of confidence in others now."

source: foxnews.com/world