Ex-DRC Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions in Central Africa Republic.
Jean Pierre Bemba was the highest-ranking official yet to be convicted by the court and showed no emotion as the verdict against him was read out Monday at the ICC,Hague.
Bemba pleaded not guilty to all charges; his defense had argued that he didn’t have command and control over Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) fighters.
While Bemba was predominantly in Congo during the time period in question, he was able to speak directly to commanders in CAR through radios and satellite phones, the judgement noted.
Bemba knew that MLC soldiers were committing crimes and “failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures” to stop them, the judges concluded.
“Bemba both could and did issue operational orders,” the judge said. “Bemba knew that the MLC forces were committing or were about to commit the crimes.”
The trial focused on the question of “command responsibility” — i.e. whether Bemba should be held legally liable for alleged crimes committed by fighters under his control. It also was the first case to focus so heavily on rape as a war crime, according to the Open Society Foundations.
His marathon trial — which began in November 2010 — was the ICC’s first to focus on crimes committed in Central African Republic (CAR).
Bemba faced three war-crimes charges and two counts of crimes against humanity — for allegedly commanding the MLC militia which raped, murdered and pillaged between 2002 and 2003 in neighboring CAR’s civil war.
