Ex-warlord accused of Congo atrocities

Published on Friday 4 July 2008 22:08

FORMER Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba has appeared at the International Criminal Court facing charges of rape and torture linked to a brutal conflict in Central African Republic.

Bemba, 45, is accused of six counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity as head of a militia that allegedly committed atrocities in the 2002-3 conflict.

He did not have to enter a plea at yesterday's hearing.

Bemba waved to his wife in the public gallery as guards brought him into court.

He spoke only to confirm his name, birth date and occupation and to say conditions at the cell block he has occupied since Thursday, when he was extradited from Belgium, are "not the best".

Bemba was made a vice president in Congo's transitional government, which paved the way for 2006 elections, at which he was elected to the senate.

Prosecutors allege he had full authority for all political and military decisions by his militia, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo.

The Hague court's preliminary investigation uncovered widespread killings and sex-ual violence cases.

He fled to Portugal last year after being accused of treason.

Bemba's lawyer, Aime Kilolo Musamba Lubemba, protested to presiding judge Fatoumata Dembele Diarra about the way Bemba was held in Belgium, suggesting he was not detained according to court rules.

Diarra told Lubemba to put his complaints in a written motion. She scheduled a hearing for November to establish whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence to merit sending Bemba to trial.

Central African Republic has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960.