Congo Ex-Official Is Held in Belgium on War Crimes Charges

May 25, 2008

Congo Ex-Official Is Held in Belgium on War Crimes Charges

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

THE HAGUE (Agence France-Presse) — Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was once a rebel leader and, later, the vice president of Congo, was arrested near Brussels late Saturday at the request of the International Criminal Court, a court prosecutor said.

“We are waiting for Belgian authorities to order his transfer to the I.C.C.,” the prosecutor, Béatrice Le Fraper, said.

The arrest warrant for Mr. Bemba, 45, was originally issued on May 16 but was not made public until he was detained. He faces four war crimes charges and two charges of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in the Central African Republic when his militia was fighting there.

But another prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, made it clear that the investigation was ongoing and that the order for Mr. Bemba would not be the only warrant issued in the case.

Mr. Bemba, a multimillionaire, ran for president in October 2006, losing to the incumbent, Joseph Kabila.

He also led the rebel group Movement for the Liberation of Congo, which later converted itself into a political party. He served as one of Congo’s four vice presidents from 2003 to 2006.

In 2002, Mr. Bemba’s group was asked by former President Ange-Félix Patassé from the Central African Republic to come into his country and put down a coup attempt. While there, the group was accused of widespread rights abuses.

After Mr. Patassé was ousted in 2003, his successor pressed charges of rape and murder against Mr. Bemba and referred the case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The United Nations has accused the group of cannibalism, a charge it denies.

In recent months, Mr. Bemba had been living in exile in Portugal. He is facing charges of high treason in Congo.

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