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Bemba trial to open on 14 July: ICC Press release and decisions; related news and opinions

25 June 2010

Dear all,

Please find below information about recent developments related to the International Criminal Court's investigation in the Central African Republic (CAR).

This message includes the latest press release issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) announcing the postponement of the opening of the Bemba trial to July 14th and related judicial decisions (I) as well as related news coverage, comments and opinions (II).

Please 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
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/

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I. ICC PRESS RELEASE AND RELATED DECISIONS

[These documents have been produced by the ICC. The CICC Secretariat distributes them as part of its mandate to keep member organizations and individuals informed about developments related to the ICC. The documents do not reflect the views of the CICC as a whole or its individual members.]

i. "Commencement of the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba postponed until 14 July, 2010," ICC Press Release, ICC-CPI-20100625-PR552, 25 June 2010, http://www2.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/press and media/press releases/pr552

"Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided today to postpone the opening of the trial, initially scheduled for 5 July, in the case The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to Wednesday 14 July, 2010 at 2.30 p.m. (The Hague local time). The postponement is due to administrative reasons, in particular the likely change in the composition of the Bench, and to facilitate necessary preparation for the commencement of the trial.

The Chamber will hold hearings on 14 and 15 July, 2010, to hear the opening speeches of the parties and participants and to address any necessary trial and case-management issues. The hearings will resume on 30 August, 2010, after the judicial recess.

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is alleged to be criminally responsible for having effectively acted as a military commander within the meaning of article 28(a) of the Rome Statute for two crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three war crimes (murder, rape and pillaging) allegedly committed on the territory of the Central African Republic during the period approximately between 26 October, 2002 and 15 March, 2003.

After his arrest by the Belgian authorities in accordance with a warrant of arrest issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC, he was transferred to the Court on 3 July, 2008. He is currently being detained at the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague."

ii. "Order postponing the commencement of the trial," ICC-01/05-01/08-803, ICC Trial Chamber III, 25 June 2010, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc900817.pdf

iii. "Decision on the Admissibility and Abuse of Process Challenges," ICC-01/05-01/08-802, ICC Trial Chamber III, 24 June 2010, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc899684.pdf

II. RELATED NEWS AND OPINIONS

[Informal translations provided by the CICC Secretariat]

i. « ICC: Opening of the Jean-Pierre Bemba Trial postponed to July 14th, » (« CPI: l'ouverture du procès de Jean-Pierre Bemba reportée au 14 juillet»), AFP, 25 June 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h-NpzIIS1UKV2zgkVrpZYSVL9vdw (In French)

« The opening of the trial against former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Jean-Pierre Bemba before the International Criminal Court in The Hague scheduled for July 5th is postponed to July 14th, the ICC announced on Friday.

... In addition, in a decision published Thursday evening, ICC Judges rejected the inadmissibility request presented on February 25th by Mr. Bemba's defence. ..."

ii. « The ICC had jurisdiction to hold trial in Bemba case » (« La CPI compétente pour siéger dans l'affaire Bemba ») Radio Okapi, 25 June 2010, http://radiookapi.net/actualite/2010/06/25/la-cpi-competente-pour-sieger-dans-l’affaire-bemba (In French)

"ICC Trial Chamber III has declared it has jurisdiction to hear the Bemba case, thus rejecting the last inadmissibility request introduced by lawyers. This is what Paul Madidi, ICC communications officer at the ICC field office in Kinshasa, has indicated to the press.

With their request, Bemba's lawyers wanted the ICC to drop the case.

Paul Madidi indicated that the judges Trial Chamber III concluded that this case did not satisfy the standards of inadmissibility indicated in article 17 of the Rome Statute.

...However, the ICC Communications officer indicated that the decision of ICC Trial Chamber III could still be appealed. But this appeal, on the assumption that it would be introduced, would not automatically suspend the normal course of the Bemba case. .

iii. "Agreement ICC-Belgium: Brussels ready to receive Bemba as a prisoner" (« Accord Cpi-Belgique : Bruxelles prêt à accueillir Bemba comme prisonnier »), By Joachim Diana G Scheveningen (L'Avenir), 2 June 2010, http://www.7sur7.cd/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5229:-accord-cpi-belgique--bruxelles-pret-a-accueillir-bemba-comme-prisonnier&catid=14:lavenir&lang=fr (in French)

"The ICC concluded agreements on the enforcement of sentences with Belgium, Denmark and Finland. This will enable Brussels to receive JP Bemba in case the ICC decides anything. The other countries that could receive the ICC detainees are Finland and Denmark, which have just joined the United Kingdom and Austria, which had signed the agreement in 2005 and 2007 respectively. .

These agreements deal with the enforcement of the jail sentences pronounced by the judges. There is a clear answer to those who thought that these agreements could also concern the decisions of provisional releases. ."

iv. "Congolese MPs want Belgium to receive J.P Bemba" (« Des élus congolais veulent que la Belgique accueille J.P. Bemba »), 29 April 2010, http://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/politique/des-elus-congolais-veulent-que-la-belgique-accueille-jp-bemba-212269 (in French)

" . 'Mr. Bemba was arrested in Belgium - on 24 May 2008 in Rhode-Saint-Genèse, under an arrest warrant issued by the ICC that accuses him of murders, rapes and pillages, allegedly committed by his militia, the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC) between October 2002 and March 2003 in the Central African Republic - and Belgium should cooperate when the time of his release comes', added Clément Kanku Bukasa [Président of the Mouvement pour le Renouveau, one of the parties affiliated to the Union nationale.]

. However, Belgium has already informed the ICC that it refused to receive the Congolese leader of the opposition party on their territory, invoking "security" reasons after the chaos launched by supporters of Jean-Pierre Bemba on 8 July in Brussels when he had been granted the authorization of going to a religious ceremony in memory of his father, the rich businessman Jeannot Bemba Saolona, who deceased the week before in Brussels."

v. "Jean-Pierre Bemba, already two years in jail"(« Jean-Pierre Bemba : déjà deux ans d'arrêt »), By Jeannot Kayuba, Centrafrique-Presse.com, 25 May 2010, http://centrafrique-presse.over-blog.com/article-jean-pierre-bemba-deja-deux-ans-d-arret-51067028.html (in French)

"According to analyst, the trial may not end before 2011. This Thursday 24 May, the leader of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC) Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo has already spent two years in jail. In this situation, the reactions of the Congolese political scene are diverse, as the opposition and the ruling party disagree. ."

vi. "The strange Bemba case" (« L'étrange affaire Bemba »), Afrique Rédaction, 17 May 2010, http://centrafrique-presse.over-blog.com/article-l-etrange-affaire-bemba-50602117.html (in French)

"During the hearing that took place on Tuesday 27 April at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the counsel of the Central African Republic (CAR), Emile Bizon, asked the judges of this international tribunal to 'not renounce the trial' of the accused Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. His defense had pleaded for the national courts to try him instead of the ICC because they had already taken a decision in the case and acquitted Bemba. 'I think it is because our humanity cannot stand impunity for such acts that the ICC was established", said the CAR counsel. ."

SEE ALSO:

vii. "Bemba case - The trial starting date still fixed to 5 July 2010, the decision of provisional release remains cancelled" (« Affaire Bemba - Le procès maintenu au 5 juillet 2010, la décision de liberté provisoire reste annulée »), By Roger Bongos, Afrique Rédaction, 30 April 2010,
http://www.afriqueredaction.com/article-affaire-bemba-le-proces-maintenu-au-5-juillet-2010-la-decision-de-liberte-provisoire-reste-annulee-49521243.html (in French)

viii. "Bemba/King: two linked cases" (« Bemba-Roi : deux affaires liées ? »), La Libre, 30 April 2010, http://www.africatime.com/afrique/nouvelle.asp?no_nouvelle=523747 (in French)

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