Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s war crimes trial has been postponed.
Bemba faces charges for murder, rape, and pillaging that occurred from October 2002 to March 2003 in the Central African Republic (CAR).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced Monday that the trial, scheduled to start April 27, has been pushed back to July 5. Last month, Bemba’s lawyers challenged the admissibility of his case in the ICC based on the complementarity principle. The ICC only has authority to try cases when it does not interfere with any national proceedings.
Bemba’s defense team also called the ICC proceedings “an abuse of process in the case against Mr. Bemba,” and questioned the ICC’s “lack of the requisite level gravity,” believing that the case is not serious enough to be heard in the ICC.
The Office of the Prosecutor and victims’ legal representatives have until March 29 to make submissions to the Court and the CAR and DRC authorities have until April 19 to respond. A status conference is scheduled for April 27 where the trial chamber will consider all submissions alongside oral submissions made at the conference. The trial chamber will then issue a decision.
Last summer, the ICC pre-trial chamber found that Bemba had the “necessary criminal intent” when he ordered the Movemenr de Liberation du Congo (MLC) into CAR. It also determined that the MLC armed group committed war crimes and crimes against humanity under Bemba “acting as military commander” during that mission.
Bemba was arrested in Belgium and transferred to the ICC in July 2008. Last September, the Court reversed a decision granting Bemba a temporary conditional release, deciding that he would remain in the custody of the Court until the trial’s commencement.
This is one of four cases being investigated by the Prosecutor of the ICC. Bemba is the most senior political figure in the Court’s custody.
For more information, please see:
AP – Bemba War Crimes Trial Delayed – 08 March 2010
Relief Web – Commencement of the Trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Postponed Until 5 July 2010 – 08 March 2010
UN News Centre – ICC Postpones Trial of Former Congolese Leader Charged with War Crimes – 08 March 2010
