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DR Congolese ex-leader Bemba sentenced to 18 years imprisonment

Xinhua, June 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Former DR Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was convicted to a sentence of 18 years imprisonment by the trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday.

On March 21, the trial chamber had already declared Bemba allegedly guilty of two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape and pillaging).

In the courtroom in The Hague, presiding judge Sylvia Steiner on Tuesday said that the alleged murder crimes and the pillaging justified 16 years in jail and that alleged rape as war crime and rape as crime against humanity justified an 18-year punishment.

The time of detention, around eight years, will be deducted from his sentence.

The alleged crimes were committed in Congo's neighboring country, the Central African Republic, between October 26, 2002 to March 15, 2003 by a contingent of the Mouvement de Liberation du Congo (the Movement for the Liberation of Congo) troops.

According to the chamber, Bemba was a military commander with effective authority and control over the forces that allegedly committed the crimes.

The parties, prosecution and defense, may appeal the decision.

Bemba was arrested by the Belgian authorities on May 24, 2008, pursuant to an ICC arrest warrant, and surrendered to the ICC on June 3, 2008.

His trial started in November, 2010 and the closing statements were delivered in November, 2014. Endit