The war crimes trial of Congolese
former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has begun at the International Criminal
Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The former vice-president of DR
Congo denies murder, rape and pillage in the Central African Republic (CAR).
The ICC chief prosecutor says the
trial will show that commanders are responsible for their troops’ actions.
Mr Bemba – the most high-profile
figure to be tried by the ICC since it began its work in 2002 – denies the
charges.
The 48-year-old faces two counts of
crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.
Via his lawyer, he pleaded not
guilty to all of the charges as the hearing opened.
Chief ICC prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo told the court that the militiamen who raped and killed hundreds
of civilians in CAR in 2002-3 were under Mr Bemba’s “effective authority
and control”.
Describing the rapes as
“crimes of domination and humiliation”, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said Mr
Bemba had turned a blind eye to such attacks and was “even more
responsible than his subordinates”.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo told the court
that its decision would “influence the behaviour of thousands of military
commanders” around the world.
At the time of the alleged crimes,
Mr Bemba was a militia leader in DR Congo.
His Movement for the Liberation of
Congo (MLC) crossed the border from their stronghold in the northern Equateur
province into neighbouring CAR to help the president put down a coup attempt.
He was arrested in Brussels in
2008, and handed over to the ICC.
His lawyers have claimed that the
trial is intended to remove him from the Congolese political scene –
allegations dismissed by both the ICC and the Congolese government.
His is the third ICC case to go to
trial – the two previous ones concern the conflict in DR Congo.
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