Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

ICC begins hearing for former DRC leader accused of CAR war crimes

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday began a confirmation of charges hearing against former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba. Bemba, originally arrested by Belgian authorities in May, faces war crimes and crimes against humanity charges for violations allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between October 2002 and March 2003. ICC prosecutors said Bemba is responsible for ordering troops to use rape and torture to intimidate CAR civilians against supporting rebel forces in the country, but lawyers for Bemba argued that the forces that allegedly committed the crimes were acting under the authority of the CAR government, and that the charges against Bemba were politically motivated. After being postponed late last year, the preliminary proceeding against Bemba is scheduled to finish by January 15. It will determine whether he will face trial on the charges against him. Bemba was elected to office after losing a run-off presidential election to Joseph Kabila, who in December 2006 became the first freely-elected president of the DRC since 1960. After the election, Bemba's private militia force led a violent campaign against government troops until the DRC Supreme Court rejected his election challenge. In the process, Bemba's supporters set fire to the Supreme Court building. Following the clashes, the chief prosecutor of the DRC issued a warrant for Bemba's arrest, and he fled to Europe. A court in CAR referred original war crimes charges against him to the ICC in April 2006.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 12, 2009 (boomark / email).