Court Watch
Statute, subjecting itself to ICC jurisdiction over any substantiated claims of war crimes or geno- cide committed by the country’s citizens.
For most of the past thirteen years, the extreme- ly poor and diverse country in the heart of Africa has experienced endless cycles of violence. Political instability, multiple attempted and suc- cessful coups d’etat, and several offensives and counter-offensives carried out by various armed groups and the Central African Republic Armed Forces have facilitated the violence. The inves- tigation will look into Seleka, a predominantly Muslim-based alliance of rebel militia factions that ousted President Francois Bozize and in- serted Michel Djotodia in March 2013, and anti- balaka, Christian and animist militias originally formed as village self defense forces. Both sides may be culpable.
10
Since the end of 2013 the violence has taken on a sectarian character as Seleka, which con- trols eight of the country’s sixteen prefectures, focused its attacks on non-Muslim populations. Non-Muslim populations have become outraged by the attacks, leading to the formation of armed groups known as anti-balaka. These vigilantes be- gan carrying out attacks of their own on Muslims. Retaliation and escalation of violence ensued as the situation quickly spiraled out of control. Not even United Nations Security Council approval of a 10,000 peacekeeping troops and 1,800 police in December 2013, the deployment of 1,600 French troops, the resignation of President Djotodia in January 2014, and freezing of assets of alleged war criminals could quell the violence.
Now, the ICC must gather evidence, bring those responsible to justice, and reestablish law and or- der in a country where the leadership has little or no respect for the rule of law. The ICC was set up 11 years ago to handle just this task. However, its legitimacy has been questioned as each of its eight currently open investigations are in Africa. This has led to accusations that ICC is targeting
the continent. The ICC has denied these claims saying many of the world’s worst human rights abuses have occurred and are occurring in Africa.
Even worse for a nation struggling to find peace, there has been no indication from the ICC as to how long it will take to identify suspects, is- sue warrants, and bring the accused to trial. The lengthy investigation and trial brings back pain- ful memories of Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, who was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed when forces under his command invaded the CAR in 2002. Although he was arrested and charged in 2008, he remains on trial four years after the com- mencement of proceedings in his case.
Nevertheless, a full investigation is underway af- ter ICC Prosecutor Bensouda determined that the “list of atrocities is endless” and impossible to ignore. While the investigation takes place, the people of the Central African Republic will likely need to exercise patience, for there is no telling how long the ICC’s investigation, pursuit of crimi- nals, and trials of the alleged criminals will take to conclude. It will likely take even more time for Interim President Samba-Panza to successfully re- build her divided country.
* Submitted by Justin Kohlbeck
Top Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison
On Monday, September 15, 2014, Mohamed Badie, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Party in Egypt, was sentenced to life in prison. He was charged with murder and inciting violence during the controversy that broke out in Giza in July 2013. Badie was convicted of the murder of five people and the attempted murder of 100 others.
This court case has been the source of much controversy because of the Egyptian govern- ment’s politically motivated efforts to disband the
ILSA Quarterly » volume 23 » issue 2 » December 2014
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