Rwanda rebel leader to be freed by ICC
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Dec. 19 (UPI) — Two judges at the International Criminal Court, citing insufficient evidence, ordered the release of a Rwanda militia leader tied to DRC violence.
French authorities acting on an arrest warrant issued in September 2010 by the ICC transferred Rwandan rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana to the ICC detention center in The Hague early this year.
He was charged with five counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes for atrocities committed in 2009 in the DRC.
Mbarushimana is the leader of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French initials FDLR.
The U.S. Treasury Department, in sanctioning certain FDLR leaders in December 2010, said the rebel group is the one of the most violent armed groups in the Congo. The militant group, as well as members of the Congolese military, was highlighted in a recent U.N. report on mass rapes in the region.
Two of three ICC judges ruled there wasn’t enough evidence “to establish substantial grounds to believe” that Mbarushimana was criminally responsible for war crimes and ordered his release.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said after his January arrest that Mbarushimana’s detention was symbolic of justice being served in the region.
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