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Kenya: OTP Press release; News Coverage and Multimedia Information

13 Mar 2010

Dear Colleagues,

On March 3, 2010 the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) issued a press release in response to the request by ICC
Judges of 18 February 2010.

Find below the OTP-ICC Press release (I); news coverage (II) and multimedia
information (III).

Please also take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC
(below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on
potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis.
The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information
about the ICC.

Best regards,

CICC Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org


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I. ICC Press Release

This document has been produced by the ICC. The Coalition for the ICC
distributes it as part of its mandate to inform member organizations and
individuals about ICC-related developments. The document does not reflect the
views of the CICC as a whole or its individual members.

"ICC Prosecutor to Judges: Kenya crimes resulted from a policy by identifiable
leaders", 3 March 2010, ICC, ICC-OTP-20100303-PR501,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/FF1C95BD-9BC7-4509-AC40-E32D1EDA41CB.htm

"In response to the request by ICC Judges of 18 February 2010, the Prosecutor
clarified today that senior political and business leaders associated with the
main political parties, the PNU which was in the government at the time of the
violence and the ODM which was the main opposition party at the time, organized,
enticed and/or financed attacks against the civilian population on account of
their perceived ethnic and/or political affiliation pursuant to or on
furtherance of a State and/or organizational policy.

'These senior leaders from both PNU and ODM parties were guided by political
objectives to retain or gain power', said the Prosecutor. 'They utilized their
personal, government, business and tribal networks to commit the crimes. They
implemented their policy with the involvement of a number of State officers and
public and private institutions, such as members of the parliament, senior
government officers, the police force and youth gangs'.
The Prosecutor provided the ICC Judges with a list of the most serious criminal
incidents, and a selected list of 20 names of persons who appear to bear the
gravest responsibility for these crimes. Both lists are contained in
confidential annexes.

The names were identified in the course of different inquiries into the
post-election violence, including those carried out by the Kenya National
Commission on Human Rights and the Commission of Investigation on Post-Election
Violence ("Waki Commission").

'At this stage, the names are indicative only' said the Prosecutor. 'The
allegations concerning the named individuals will have to be measured against
the evidence gathered independently by my office. If the Judges authorize the
investigation, I will engage those who wish to clarify their role or provide
further information'.

The Prosecutor also reiterated to the Judges that none of the named individuals
has yet faced justice in Kenya for the crimes.
The Prosecutor requested an expedited decision by the Judges because, in his
words, both the victims and those defined as suspects need justice."

II. NEWS COVERAGE

i. "Panic over Ocampo's list to ICC," Sunday Nation, March 6 2010,
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Panic over Ocampo list to ICC/-/
1064/874494/-/14bhklu/-/index.html

"The handing over of list of suspected perpetrators of Kenya's post-election
violence of 2008 to the International Criminal Court judges has caused fear,
panic and anxiety across the country especially in areas that were hardest hit
by the chaos.

Senior officials of the three arms of the police: Regular, Administration and
General Service Unit have also not been spared as ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo stated that they were used in the chaos.

The Waki Commission report on post-election violence linked more than 400 deaths
of the 1,133 people killed during the two months of the post election violence
to the police.

A survey by the Sunday Nation in some of the areas that were affected by the
skirmishes indicated that many of the suspected financiers and organisers of the
chaos had been thrown into a panic.

There is also fear among the victims.."

ii. "Threats After Kenya's vote violence detail justice", AP (via Yahoonews),
March 5 2010, Associated Press,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_re_af/af_kenya_election_violence

"Threats against Kenyan human rights activists and victims of violence could
undermine the quest for justice from Kenya's 2007-2008 postelection violence, a
state-funded human rights group said Friday.
Human rights activists are being exposed to threats by government security
agencies who are sometimes entrusted with protecting them, the Kenya National
Commission on Human Rights said.

The group said threats against witnesses and victims of postelection violence
have been on the rise since International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis
Moreno Ocampo began investigating Kenyan violence. More than 1,000 people were
killed in the weeks following the country's December 2007 presidential election.

'If you threaten a human rights defender, then you're equally threatening
justice,' said Hassan Omar Hassan, the commission's vice chairman during an
event to mark the anniversary of the death of two Kenyan human rights activists.
Last year the two provided evidence of police death squads to a U.N.
investigator on extra-judicial executions. The two were then killed on March 5.
Fellow activists blamed the killings on the police.
Moreno Ocampo this week said he believes top officials from Kenya's two major
political parties were responsible for crimes against humanity. He gave a list
of 20 suspects to ICC judges, who must decide whether Moreno
Ocampo may open a formal investigation.

Moreno Ocampo said both parties organized, financed or spurred the violence
against civilians because of their political or tribal allegiance.."

iii. "Ocampo comes under attack," Sunday Nation, March 5, 2010
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Ocampo comes under attack/-/1064/874
026/-/bxvg6i/-/

"International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Friday came under
attack for his failure to expose post-poll violence plotters. Nairobi
Metropolitan Development minister Njeru Githae made the surprise attack on the
prosecutor, accusing him of wasting Kenyans' time.

Decisions crucial for Kenya's development could not be made because leaders were
waiting to know the 20 names handed over to the Hague judges, he said. "Some
leaders cannot make political decisions because they fear their names are in the
envelope."

Speaking at Baricho provincial administration offices in Kirinyaga West
District, Mr Githae said Kenyans were tired of waiting to know those who
instigated the violence that left 1,133 people dead. 'If such people do not
exist, Ocampo should tell us so that we can settle down.'

Ocampo has handed over the names to the pre-trial chambers at The Hague. The
evidence linking the suspects to the chaos was drawn from the Waki report and
that of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

At the same time, Mr Githae told Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission
chairman Bethuel Kiplagat to ignore calls for his resignation."

iv. "Ocampo targets PNU and ODM," Sunday Nation, March 4, 2010
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Ocampo targets PNU and ODM/-/1064/
873470/-/5593i0z/-/


"International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has accused leaders
from across Kenya's political divide and businessmen over their role in the
post-election violence.
Details of Mr Moreno-Ocampo's submission to the Pre-Trial Chamber show how the
suspects planned and executed what he refers to as a 'criminal policy' against
civilians.
Their motivation, he says, was to retain or gain power. Some 1,133 people were
killed and more than 650,000 evicted from their homes in the wake of the madness
that followed Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election.."

III.MULTIMEDIA INFORMATION

i. Video: "Ocampo to see Kenya case through", Kenya National TV- Youtube Channel
http://64.15.120.233/watch?v=t74F2rEGSS0&hd=1

ii. Video: "Ocampo's evidence," Kenya National TV, Youtube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4cJ5XtVC1M


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