The former first lady of the Ivory Coast- Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo  has today been sentenced to 20 years, twice of what the prosecutor had asked for—for ‘undermining state security’ during post-election violence in 2010-2011 that left nearly 3,000 dead.

It was not just her, Laurent Gbagbo’s son Michel, a French-born dual national from a previous marriage, was also sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the violence. In court, Simone Gbagbo who was once referred to by admirers and opponents alike as Ivory Coast’s ‘Iron Lady’s face hardened as the verdict was read.

Simone Gbagbo has been on trial since January with 82 co-defendants accused of varying degrees of involvement in the deadly unrest.

Simone Gbagbo’s lawyer- Me Rodrigue Dadje is reported to have said, Simone is ‘a little affected’ by the sentence and that they would appeal the sentence.

The court unanimously sentenced her to 20 years, twice as long as the prosecutors had asked for.

Simone’s daughter-Marie Antoinette Singleton told the BBC the sentence was unfair and a sign of “political justice”.

“Why would you want to double it? It’s not about justice, it’s about getting rid of political adversaries.”

“If we say that something wrong happened, it happened on both sides. Nobody looked into bringing all responsible parties to trial,” she said.