ICC: Bemba's trial nears its end

At the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, the prosecution in Jean-Pierre Bemba’s case tried Wedndesday to convince judges they should convict the former warlord for his troops' "barbarity" in the Central African Republic .

The former Congolese vice president's is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his soldiers in the C-A-R.

The trial now nears its end this Thursday.

RFI's Melissa Chemam reports from The Hague.

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Prosecution lawyers in the Bemba case had three hours to present their conclusions on Wednesday, however, they needed an extra half hour to wrap up their statements.

Four of them made the voices of the victims heard again, as they recalled all the atrocities the people of the Central African Republic went through during the 2002-2003 fighting.

The prosecutors asked the judges to recognise Jean-Pierre Bemba’s crimes as the commander of rebel forces acting in a neighbouring country.

He was at the time a rebel leader and commander of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (or MLC) and sent his troops to support the C-A-R president Ange Felix Patassé against rebel soldiers loyal to Francois Bozize. 

Behind the courtroom window, Jean-Pierre Bemba kept his glasses on while listening to the accusations and remained stoical throughout.

However, his party members present in the public gallery of the court, did not hesitate to scream “liar” at the prosecutors or to laugh at arguments when they disagreed.

On Tuesday, the ICC also announced that Bemba and his defence team would face a new trial for attempting to bribe and threaten some of the witnesses.

This Thursday, last day of these closing statements, will see the Defence state their case. Bemba himself should remain silent. The verdict should not be announced before 2015.

Melissa Chemam, RFI, The Hague.