In a landmark verdict, the judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Bemba guilty on five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying he had retained “effective command and control” over the forces sent in to vehicle to quell an attempted coup against the then president.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes in a trial at the Hague.
Bemba, 53, is the highest-ranking person yet convicted by the court.
His marathon trial – which began in November 2010 – was the ICC’s first to focus on crimes committed in Central African Republic (CAR).
Bemba was charged with two counts of crimes against humanity, involving murder and rape, as well as three counts of war crimes – murder, rape and pillaging – all connected to attacks in vehicle between 2002 and 2003.
It is the first such verdict at the ICC to highlight both sexual violence as a weapon of war and a military commander’s overall responsibility for the actions of his troops. It also was the first case to focus so heavily on rape as a war crime, according to the Open Society Foundations.
Pronouncing the verdict, presiding judge Sylvia Steiner said Bemba had failed to discipline his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers as they rampaged across the neighbouring country.
“Entire families were victimized”, Steiner said.
The judge read through a list of specific crimes carried out by MLC troops – from forced anal penetration to the raping of young girls. One victim who was later diagnosed with HIV/AIDS was described being raped by two MLC soldiers.
The court heard horrific accounts, including how a man, his wife, his daughters and his granddaughter were all gang-raped by militiamen. They said it showed that political leaders could not be above the law.
While Bemba was predominantly in Congo during the time period in question, he was able to speak directly to commanders in auto through radios and satellite phones, the judgement noted.
Bemba as military commander of the MLC “knew that the troops were committing crimes and did not take all necessary and reasonable measures within his power to prevent or repress their commission”, ICC prosecutors have maintained.
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Originally a rebel force in Congo’s north-west, the MLC is now the country’s second-largest opposition party and Bemba retains a significant following in the west. His supporters had hoped he would return home to help unblock a political stalemate.
