On 16 June the International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo for acts committed in the Central African Republic (CAR). In the decision, judges in The Hague-based ICC found that Mr. Bemba had the "necessary criminal intent" when in 2002 he ordered his armed group, the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), into CAR to back up embattled leader Ange-Félix Patassé.
According to the ICC, MLC fighters committed war crimes and crimes against humanity on that mission, with Bemba "effectively acting as military commander." His alleged responsibility covers crimes committed between October 2002 and March 2003. The alleged crimes include rape, murder and pillaging. Torture was among the crimes the Court did not uphold, citing a lack of evidence.
Mr. Bemba was arrested in May 2008 by Belgian authorities and transferred to the ICC in July. He is to stand trial at a date still to be determined.
The situation in CAR is one of four - along with Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda - currently under investigation by the Prosecutor of the ICC, an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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