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You are here: Home Life in News Focus Former Congo warlord to face war crimes court

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07/11/2008Former Congo warlord to face war crimes court

The International Criminal Court will start hearings in December to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to start a trial against ex vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba

The hearings in The Hague will take place from 8 to 12 December. Bemba's first appearance before the court was in July when he was charged with leading Congolese rebels in a campaign of rape and torture in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002 and 2003. He is the highest-profile suspect to date brought before the world's first permanent war crimes court, set up in 2002. 
 
Bemba
 
The upcoming so-called confirmation hearings are publicly held in the presence of the prosecutor, Bemba, as well as his counsel and the legal representatives of the victims. It is one stage of the criminal procedure before the ICC which aims at ensuring that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he has been charged. Following these hearings, the judges will decide whether or not to confirm the charges brought by the prosecutor. 
 
Bemba's Congolese and Central African rebellions
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, an ethnic Ngwaka, is the son of a Congolese millionaire and was a close friend to former President Mobutu Sese Seko. Married and father of five children, he was one of the richest men in DRC. After he studied in Belgium he returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he created various new businesses, particularly in the telecommunications, aviation and audiovisual industries.
 
Following the 1997 rebellion and takeover by Laurent-Désiré Kabila's forces, Bemba went into exile in Uganda. With the help of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, he created the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). His movement was involved in the DRC's civil war that raged the country from 1998 to 2003. 
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