On 29 September, the trial against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (Bemba) and four members associated with his Defence will commence before Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to allegations of witness tampering and falsifying evidence in the original case brought by the ICC against Bemba.

‘This case is important because it marks the first of three ICC cases to reach the trial stage in which individuals are charged with offences against the administration of justice’, said Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.

In the first case brought by the ICC against Bemba (Bemba main case), the accused went to trial facing charges of murder and rape as crimes against humanity and murder, rape and pillaging as war crimes in relation to crimes allegedly committed by his troops between 25 October 2002 and 15 March 2003 in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Read the full Statement by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.