Central African Republic Refers Former President to ICC

An Appeals Court in the Central African Republic (CAR) has referred a case concerning its former president, Ange Felix Patasse, and one of DR Congo’s Vice Presidents, Jean-Pierre Bemba, to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The pair and three others are charged with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity including the systematic rape and murder of civilians during a thwarted coup in 2002, while Patasse was president of the CAR.

The coup, which occurred on October 25, 2002, was led by CAR’s current President Francois Bozize. The government of the former President Patasse quelled the coup with help from Bemba’s Congolese Liberation Movement, a rebel group in neighboring northern DR Congo at the time. Bozize led another coup in 2003, which successfully ousted Ex-President Patasse.

While the group was formally indicted in September 2004, the Court could not commence trial because the CAR Police have been unable to arrest them. According to a Justice Ministry Spokesman, “…the judiciary authorities claimed that the country does not have the capability to arrest and judge Patasse and his accomplices, who are not in the country at the moment.” He added that “the only way to prevent total impunity is to call for international help.” The ex-President is believed to be in exile in Togo, Bemba is currently an official in DR Congo’s transitional government and the whereabouts of the others are unknown.

On January 7, 2005, the ICC announced that it received a letter from the government of the CAR requesting that the Court investigate any crimes falling within its jurisdiction that may have occurred on their territory since July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statue of the ICC came into force. The Office of the Prosecutor is currently conducting an analysis of the CAR case to determine whether the ICC should initiate a formal investigation.
 

Updated April 17, 2006

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