By Justice Hub
War broke out in the Central African Republic in October 2002. It pitted the then president of the CAR, Ange-Félix Patassé, against a group of rebels led by his former army chief of staff, François Bozizé. Patassé asked for assistance from the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, led by Jean-Pierre Bemba. Patassé’s forces lost the war, and Bozizé became the new president of the CAR in March 2003.
The new government presented a referral to the ICC in December 2004, accusing the MLC forces, led by Bemba, of several crimes committed against civilians during the war. The Office of the Prosecutor opened an investigation in May 2007. Jean-Pierre Bemba was accused of being responsible for what happened in the CAR. An arrest warrant was issued in June 2008.
The trial opened on 22 November 2010. The closing oral statements took place last November, and the judges are still deliberating the case.
This is part of a series of long-form infocomics about the situations that the ICC is dealing with:
- Why is the DRC situation at the iCC?
- Why is the Kenya situation at the ICC?
- Why is the Mali situation at the ICC?
- Why is the Uganda situation at the ICC?
- Why is the CAR II situation at the ICC?
- Why is the Darfur situation at the ICC?
The infocomics are made by Italian journalist and cartoonist Emanuele del Rosso, who works for Justice Hub.
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