Sunday, December 05, 2010

ICC in the Media, Update #15

This week Omar al-Bashir missed two international events out of fear of being arrested and delivered to the ICC. He had planned to visit celebrations in the Central African Republic and a summit in Libya, but cancelled abruptly. Prior to his canceling, the ICC urged the Central African Republic to arrest Bashir if he chose to appear. As we blogged about earlier this week, Luis Moreno Ocampo is preparing to release the names of the six individuals most responsible for the Kenyan post-election violence. He has chosen to ask the judges to summon the individuals voluntarily to the court instead of applying for arrest warrants. Several individuals concerned that they may be named by the ICC, such as William Ruto, have claimed evidence of ICC witnesses being coached and say that a number of witnesses who provided incriminating testimony to the ICC no longer wish to testify. Other Kenyan MPs have claimed that the ICC process is merely a plot to remove Uhuru and Ruto from the 2012 elections. These allegations have been widely criticzed from both within and outside of the political ring. In other news the Bemba trial continues in its second week as scheduled. This week the judges heard testimony from an expert on gender crimes and post-traumatic stress disorder and a victim of gang rape by Bemba's soldiers. Photo credit: Daily Nation.

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