Congo-Kinshasa: Former Vice-President Arrested By International Criminal Court

27 May 2008

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been arrested by Belgian authorities on a sealed warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Mr. Bemba chairs the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC), an armed group that intervened in the 2002-2003 armed conflict in CAR. The Court's pre-trial chamber has found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the MLC forces, led by Mr. Bemba, carried out a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population during which rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging were committed.

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