And today, the Belgian authorities surrendered and transferred Jean-Pierre Bemba, President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), to the International Criminal Court.
Bemba is alleged to be criminally responsible for five counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003. In a statement, the Court appreciated the steps taken by the Belgian authorities in the enforcement of the arrest warrant and Bemba’s surrender and transfer, as well as the cooperation of the Dutch authorities to transport him to the detention centre. Yesterday, following its decision imposing a stay on the proceedings of the case involving Thomas Lubanga, the Court’s Trial Chamber ordered Lubanga’s release. However, since an appeal may be filed within five days, the order granting release shall not be enforced until the expiry of the five-day time limit. Further information on both suspects can be found on the Court’s website.
seen at 12:00, 3 July
in
Whitehouse Press Briefings.
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