(AFP)
THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court said on Friday it had postponed hearings planned for next week to examine six states' willingness to host a Congolese war crimes suspect ahead of his trial.
A pre-trial judge said it was not "feasible, at this stage, to proceed with convening the public hearings as initially scheduled" in the case against former Democratic Republic of Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
The court's latest ruling follows the filing of an appeal by prosecutors against a decision last month to grant Bemba a conditional release ahead of his trial, for which no date has been set.
It said at the time that Bemba would have to stay in detention until a country is found that is willing to host him, and invited Belgium, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and South Africa to make "observations" at hearings scheduled for September 7 to 14.
These were countries to which Bemba had asked to be released. Most of them have raised objections.
The five European countries had asked for the hearings to be postponed, while Bemba's lawyers had sought the DR Congo to be added to the list.
On Thursday, the ICC said Bemba would have to remain behind bars pending the outcome of the prosecution's appeal against his ordered release, even if a host country is found in the meantime.
Given the possibility that an appeals chamber may overturn the decision to free Bemba, the court therefore postponed the country hearings until after the appeal is decided.
Bemba, 46, stands accused of three charges of war crimes and two of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) from October 2002 to March 2003.
He will stand trial for acts of murder, rape and pillaging allegedly committed by members of his Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) while helping troops of then CAR president Ange-Felix Patasse fight off a coup bid.
Copyright © 2009 AFP
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