Former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo Sues ICC For $75 Million

Bemba is a Congolese vice president who was one of 4 vice presidents in the transitional of DRC. Bemba is also a leader of a a rebel group turned political party.

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Lawyers for the former rebel leader and Vice-President of DR Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year, are seeking nearly $75m (R1074525300) (£57m) in damages.

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They want compensation for what they say was his unlawful detention, legal fees and losses due to the alleged mismanagement of his assets seized by the court.

During 10 years in detention, Mr Bemba’s assets “were simply allowed to rot”, his lawyer Peter Haynes told journalists in The Hague.

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The assets included seven aeroplanes, three villas in Portugal, three parcels of land in DR Congo and two boats.

He pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2016 after being convicted of all charges because the court held that he knew his troops were committing or about to commit crimes and he did not deter or punish them.

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Two years later, the court overturned his convictions, citing grave procedural errors.

The amount he is seeking is just under half of the ICC’s annual budget of some $168 million (R2406936672), Reuters news agency reports.

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No date was set for when the filing would be considered by ICC judges, who have rejected similar claims in the past.

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Mr Bemba, a successful businessman and an opposition politician before his arrest, was acquitted May last year of crimes committed by members of a militia under his command.

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Mr Bemba was excluded from running in the December presidential election because he was convicted of witness tampering by the ICC, an offence which is a form of corruption under DR Congo electoral law.