Over 3,000 alleged Central African Republic victims of abuses reportedly committed by former forces of Congolese Senator and former Vice President, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo in the country from October 2002 to mid March 2003,
have applied to be joined in his trial currently going on at the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands. According to AllAfrica News and the website of Bemba’s trial, the number adds to the 1,600 already taking part in the trial.
The Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) of the court on August 26, 2011 informed judges that as many as 2,830 applications were expected to be filed in the coming months. Trial judges have approved a plan by the VPRS to finalise submission of these applications to the chamber in batches of 200 to 350 by January 13, 2012. ICC judges have explained that they intend to put in place a schedule for the filing of future applications that ensure compliance with the requirements under Article 68(3) of the Rome Statute. Under it, the victims' rights to have their views and concerns presented in the proceedings are reconciled with the rights of the accused for a fair and impartial trial. Accordingly, the judges instructed the Office of Public Counsel for the Defense (OPCD) to continue assisting Mr. Bemba's defence team with making observations on incoming applications.
According to the ICC website, Jean-Pierre Bemba’s trial began on November 22, 2010 with the defendant pleading “not guilty” to two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging). A former Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senator Bemba was charged in his capacity as the military commander of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) rebels. They were accused of committing crimes in the Central African Republic, CAR, when they went in from late October 2002 to mid-March 2003 on the invitation of the then beleaguered government of late President Ange Felix Patasse that was facing a military coup.
According to the free Internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Bemba was arrested on May 24, 2008 near Brussels, Belgium, surrendered to the ICC on 3 July 2008 and then transferred to its detention centre in The Hague. He was the first person to be arrested in connection with ICC's investigations in CAR.
